BASIC BUDDHA FOUNDATION II – TYPES OF BEINGS ON THE WAY OF liberated 05. Suffering GETTINGS FROM THE INSIDE - DAY 9 Main Content [Showing] Types of Beings on the Road to Liberation This is a series of basic teachings on Buddha. France. You have learned about the Buddha, some of his important teachings. You have also learned some particularly valuable characteristics of the Buddha. Today we will learn how to walk the path of spiritual growth. While teaching, the Buddha offered a path of spiritual development for his disciples to follow. Those who walk on this path will eventually be free from all suffering. Before we learn what the path of spiritual development is, we need to know that there are many different types of beings, many different individuals on the path of spiritual development, We will start from the lowest to the highest on the path of spiritual development. People walking on the path of spiritual development can be divided into two classes: The first is puthujjana (secular or unenlightened). The second class is the Ariya or saints. Puthujjana means worldly people who have not yet attained Enlightenment. Thus, a layman is one who has not yet become a saint. Ariyas are those who have attained the holy fruits. Puthuj-jana means "those separated from the Enlightened", which also means the unenlightened or the secular majority. A. Puthujjana (Secular people) There are two puthujjana. The first is called andha putthujjana (the blind worldly person), and the second is called Kalyāṇa puthujjana (the worldly person who understands) Andha puthujjana (the worldly person who is blind): A blind secular person is one who does not understand the Buddha's teachings, who has not heard the Buddha's teachings, who does not understand the Buddha's teachings. The teachings of the Buddha include such things as: Five Aggregates, Roots, Grounds, Grounds, Twelve Dependencies, Four Foundations of Mindfulness, etc. These are the subjects taught by the Buddha. A person who does not know or understand these teachings is called a blind secular person. Kalyāṇa puthujjana (a lay person who understands) A knowledgeable lay person is someone who understands the Buddha's teachings such as: Five Aggregates, Roots, Tranquility, Foundations, Twelve Dependencies, Four Foundations of Mindfulness, etc. This person not only understands the teachings of the Buddha. Dharma, but also have the ability to discuss and analyze the Dharma for others to understand. Sometimes because of their knowledge, their ability to discuss the Dharma, these people have a firm faith in the Buddha's teachings. So, If we want to become a kalyāṇa puthujjana (a lay person of understanding), we must study the Buddha's teachings. Bodhisatta (Bodhisattva) Bodhisatta means Buddha to become or future Buddha. It means one who is certain to become a Buddha in the future, but is still a puthujjana or an unenlightened person at present. According to Buddhism, becoming a Bodhisatta is not easy; because he must make a vow to become a Buddha in the future in front of a living Buddha, (Cannot make a vow in front of a Buddha image, Buddha image or a monk or others), and must be approved by a living Buddha. At that time there is a prediction, which means that the Buddha must declare that this Bodhisattva will definitely become a Buddha in the future at a certain time. Only then will he be a Bodhisattva (Bodhisatta). Therefore, To become a bodhisattva is not an easy thing in Buddhist teachings. The vow is predicted only if the aspirant to become a bodhisattva has seven other powers and qualities: 1 - This person must be a human being, not a god. 2- Must be a man, this is what is prescribed in the scriptures. Have the capacity to become an Arahant in that lifetime. When Bodhisattva Sumedha, the predecessor of Shakyamuni Buddha, swore at the feet of Buddha Dipankara, he had all kinds of supernatural powers (abhiñña) and Sumedha was fully qualified to become an Arahant. , if He wants, because He is qualified. Although qualified to become an arhat easily, the hermit Sumedha did not want to become an arhat in that lifetime, and accepted to spend an endless time practicing the bodhisattva practice because He wants to help, instruct sentient beings to save themselves from suffering in samsara. One must make a vow before a present Buddha. Must be a monk or a hermit. There must be all kinds of supernatural powers, which means practicing Meditation, attaining all levels of concentration, and practicing developing supernormal powers. You must have a strong will to become a Buddha even if it means giving up your life. Having enough energy, strong determination to become a Buddha, such as strong effort, perseverance, patience despite facing many difficulties and obstacles. His fierce determination is recorded in the Commentary as follows: Suppose the whole universe was covered with sharp swords. If someone says that if you can walk on the sharp points of the sword from one end of the universe to the other, then you will become a Buddha, this person will also go. Or the whole world is covered with bamboo forests or vines full of thorns, if anyone goes through this bamboo or vine forest, he will become a Buddha, he is also ready to cross this forest. Or this person hears that if he wants to attain Buddhahood, he has to endure four Asang Ky kalpas in hell and one hundred thousand aeons, and this person is also willing to suffer. If a person has all the above eight characteristics, his wish will be fulfilled. This means that he will become a Bodhisattva or it can be said that he is a Bodhisattva. In the sutras, it is also recorded that: A person who has been predicted to become a Bodhisattva in the future will not suffer from the following defects: Not being blind, dumb or deaf at birth, Not being dumb at birth, Not being disabled. Birth defects Must be born in central India, called Majjhima Desa in Pāḷi which means center of a country. Not born into the slave class, which means not a slave. Do not believe in the theory of Predestination, that is, always believe in the law of karma, the law of cause and effect. No gender change. Do not commit the five great sins. Not a leper. Do not be born as animals smaller than quails, larger than children Do not become hungry ghosts, thirsty ghosts, burned demons. Not reborn in the hell of Abhi. Abhi hell is the largest, lowest and most miserable hell. Not born in the hell of lokantarika, which is the hell between the three world systems. This hell is explained as having three round trays when left close together with a gap in between, this space is called- In the realm of desire, not born as a demon king. When born in the form world, one is not born in the realm of non-perception. Not being born in the realm of suddhāvāsa is the heaven of minor saints. Not being reborn in the arupavacara (formless realm) where there is only consciousness but no form. Must be born in this world system and not in another world system. Those are the eighteen defects that a bodhisattva will not suffer during the course of the bodhisattva practice. What should a Bodhisattva do? What virtues must be practiced? A bodhisattva must practice the ten perfections (ten perfect characteristics). These ten perfections have three classes to practice, namely the elementary paramita, the middle paramita and the profound paramita. A bodhisattva must practice until the highest paramita, i.e. profound perfection. The word Boddhisatta is translated as "a Buddha will become" or something like that. The word Bodhisatta consists of two words Bodhi and satta. The Commentary explains Bodhi in three senses. First meaning, Bodhi means one who is attached to Bodhi. Here Bodhi means Enlightenment Buddhahood. Attachment means a great desire to become a Buddha. In this sense such a person is called Bodhisatta. The second meaning, Bodhi means one with wisdom. Here the word satta means a being and Bodhi means wisdom so Bodhisatta means a person with wisdom or "wisdom". A Bodhisattva always has wisdom. Even when he was reborn as an animal, he was a beast of wisdom. Thus in the second sense, Bodhisatta means one who is wise or one who possesses wisdom. The third meaning is the Enlightened One or Enlightened Being. It means that a person will definitely attain Buddhahood. Thus, wanting to become a Bodhisattva is not an easy thing. We have studied many kinds of puthujjana and we have learned that in Buddhism, Bodhisatta is still an ordinary person who has not yet been rid of defilements. Bodhisatta is an unenlightened person, still a worldly person. Because Bodhisatta was still a puthujjana (secular) he had to be reborn sometimes as an animal, sometimes as a human, sometimes as a god. If he was already Enlightened, he could not be reborn as an animal. That is why in Buddhism bodhisattvas are still puthujjanas, worldly beings. Although still a worldly being, being a worldly being is very special. Why is it called a special worldly person or a special ordinary person? Because he gave up the opportunity for Enlightenment and made a vow to suffer in the cycle of birth and death for four A Sangha aeons and a hundred thousand aeons to become a Fully Enlightened Buddha to save sentient beings. Because an unenlightened bodhisattva is still an ordinary person, even a special ordinary person, in Buddhism, bodhisattvas are not equal to the buddhas. In fact, we rarely see statues of Bodhisattvas for worship in Buddhist monasteries. And Buddhists do not bow to Bodhisattvas like they bow to the Buddha. B. Ariya: (Enlightened One) Enlightened ones are those who have reached the stages of Enlightenment, that is, realized, clearly see the Four Noble Truths - Four Noble Truths and who have eliminated defilements. brain in mind. There are four classes of Enlightened people, except for the Omniscient Buddhas and the Paccekabuddhas. If we include both the Omniscient Buddha and the Paccekabuddha, we can say that there are six types of Ariya, six types of Enlightened people. Sotāpanna: Tu Da Hoan The first type of Enlightened person is Sotāpanna. Sotāpanna means stream-entering or entering the holy path. Sotāpanna eliminates two kinds of defilements, wrong view and doubt. This is the first stage of Enlightenment. Normally, once a person has become Sotāpanna, he is only reborn seven times in samsara. This does not mean being reborn seven times, but it is possible to be born again from one to seven times. Therefore there are three classes of Sotāpanna. The first class is to be reborn for seven lives, that is, to be reborn in the cycle of samsara at most seven lives. Although in the first six lives there is no opportunity to practice, in the seventh life there is a chance to become an Arhat. The second class of Sotāpanna are those who have only one future rebirth left and in this future life they will become an Arhat, ending all defilements. The third class of Sotāpanna are those who have to be reborn two to six lives in the future and will attain Arhatship. Sakadāgāmī: Tu Da Ham Tu Da Ham is also known as Nhat Lai. Tu Da Ham only reincarnated as a human again. This taste does not eliminate any more defilements than Tu Da Hoan. This taste only makes the remaining defilements lessen. According to the Commentary there are five types of Tu Da Ham. The first is those who become Tu Da Ham in this life and eventually die in this life. That is, he first attains the fruit of Tu Da Ham and then also attains the fruit of A Na Ham and Arahant also in this life and is freed from samsara in this life. The second Tu Da Ham rank is that person attains Tu Da Ham fruit in this life and in the next life is reborn in heaven and becomes A Na Ham, an Arahant, and enters Nirvana in that realm. The third class is those who attain Tuda Ham fruit in the heavens, then reborn as a human and attain the fruit of A Naham, Arahant, and die in this human realm. Thus this is a person who attains Tu Da Ham in the heavenly realm and is reborn as a human, Enlightenment, and Nirvana in the human realm. The fourth Tu Da Ham rank is to attain Tu Da Ham fruition in the heavenly realm, to be reborn in the heavenly realm, and to practice and attain the third and fourth holy results in that heaven. The new fifth rank is the real Tu Da Ham. This person Enlightened Tu Da Ham in the human realm and was reborn in the heavenly realm, enjoyed the fruit there, then turned back to being a human again, and then cultivated and attained the third and fourth holy fruit. This is the second person who attained sainthood in the human realm, then was reborn in the heavenly realm, and then die in the heavenly realm, be reborn in the human realm, attain Arahantship in the human realm and Nirvana in the human realm. Anāgāmī: Anāgāmī Anāgāmī Anāgāmī is one who is no longer reborn here. The word here means the world of desire. It does not mean only the human realm but includes both the human realm and the heaven of the sex world. Thus, Ananda is precisely one who does not return to the sensual world. The Ananda has eliminated Hatred and Craving in the sensual world, these two types of defilements have been completely eliminated. It means that he has completely cut off these two kinds of defilements so that they cannot arise in the future. So the Ananda does not return to the sensual world, where is he reborn? He will be reborn in the Sudhāvāsa realm, the Brahma realm. There are five types of A Na Ham. The first class of Anagami is one who is immediately reborn in the higher realms and who attains Arahantship before the end of his life span. It means that this person is currently attaining the third noble fruition there and dies there and is reborn in a higher realm of form, and in this new realm he attains arahantship before the end of half his life span. surname. The second Arahant is one who becomes an Arhat during the remaining half of his life. The third A-Na-Ham class is one that is immediately reborn to a higher realm and attains Arahantship without any effort. This class does not require much meditation. The fourth grade of A Na Ham is the rank of becoming an Arahant after making great efforts. So this is a very practical class. *** You have seen the words asaṅkhāra and sasaṅkhāra in the third and fourth parts. If in two words asaṅkhāra and sasaṅkhāra take out two prefixes a and sa, the rest of the word saṅkhara, the word saṅkhāra here means effort or effort. I have already told you that the word saṅ-khāra has many meanings. Saṅkhāra means "that which is conditioned" and "that which creates the condition", but the word saṅkhāra here means effort or effort. Saṅkhāra in the sentence: "All conditioned things (saṅkhāra) are impermanent" means those that are conditioned; ie understand the word saṅkhāra in the passive sense. Saṅkhāra in the word saṅkhārakhandha (aggregating aggregates), saṅkhāra means those that create conditions, ie understand the word saṅkhāra in the sense of impact. In the twelve causal conditions there is a sentence: Ignorance dependent action (avijjā paccayā saṅkhārā), the word saṅkhāra must be understood in the sense of impact because the word saṅkhāra here means action. The fifth A Na Ham class is reborn immediately in the Pure Land of Heaven and then dies there, and then reborn in a higher plane (also of the Pure Land of Heaven) and Enlightenment at that level. There are five Pure Lands of Heaven. First he is reborn in the first plane, then in the second, third, fourth, and fifth realms. He goes from the lower realm to the higher realm until he reaches the highest realm and attains Arahantship while living in this realm. Arahant: By Han Arahant means someone who is worthy to receive offerings because the offerings to him bring great results. An Arhat is someone who has reached the highest level of enlightenment. He has eradicated all the remaining defilements. One who has become an Arahant, all defilements are destroyed. Because the Arahant had no defilements, his mind was completely pure and pure. The Arhat has completely eradicated all defilements, so the Arahant is no longer reborn. After the death of an Arahant, there is no more rebirth. The death of an Arahant is like a lamp going out. There are three classes of Arahants. First of all, there are two Upper Thu Thanh Van (top disciple). These two must practice the Paramita for one Asang Ky aeon and one hundred thousand aeons. The two chief disciples of the Buddha Gotama were Mr. Sariputta (Sariputra) and Mr. Moggallana (Muggallana). The second Arahant class is the Great Disciple or Great Sravaka. Great shravakas must practice the perfection of perfection in one hundred thousand aeons. During the Buddha Gotama's time there were eighty Great Disciples, including the two Chief Disciples. If we don't include the two Upper Thu Thanh Van, there are only seventy-eight great disciples. The Great Disciples such as Ānanda, Maha Kassapa, Kaccayāna, Anuruddha, etc. The third Arahant are ordinary Arahants. Arahants usually only need to practice the Paramita for less than a hundred thousand earth kalpas, maybe a hundred aeons, a thousand aeons, ten thousand aeons, a hundred thousand aeons or more. . There are many Thanh Van Thuong, only seventy-eight Great Thanh Van and two Thuong Thu Thanh Van. Pacceka Buddha: Pacceka Buddha Paccekabuddha is also known as Bich Chi Buddha, many people also call it silent Buddha. A Paccekabuddha is a person who is enlightened on his own, without the help of others. The Paccekabuddha does not need to hear teachings from another person. The Paccekabuddhas are different from the two Supreme Sravakas, the seventy-eight Great Sravakas and the other Sravakas because they all need to listen to the teachings of others in order to practice meditation and attain enlightenment. Arahant fruit. The Paccekabuddha is different from the Arahants; because, like the Enlightened Buddha, The Paccekabuddha does not have a teacher to teach. The Paccekabuddha realized himself, without asking anyone for help. Without support or help from anyone else, the Paccekabuddhas realized on their own, but the Paccekabuddhas could not teach others to Enlightenment like the Fully Enlightened Buddha or the disciples of the Fully Enlightened Buddha did. do. Those who have the opportunity to hear the teachings of the Paccekabuddha can only be reborn in heaven, etc., but cannot be liberated from enlightenment. This is the difference between the students of the Paccekabuddha and the Fully Enlightened Buddha. Arahants need to listen to teachings from others, and they can help others to attain enlightenment. The Paccekabuddha does not need to be explained by others, nor can he help others to become enlightened. It should not be understood that Paccekabuddha does not preach or teach anyone. In fact, they did teach, but Paccekabuddha cannot help others to Enlightenment through his teachings. In the Jātaka and in the Sutta Nipāta, we find Paccekabuddhas who preached or at least taught a few verses. The Paccekabuddhas can teach, but they cannot teach like the Fully Enlightened Buddhas. They are enlightened themselves, but they may not be able to put it into words to teach sentient beings the way. To become a Paccekabuddha, one must practice Paramita for two aeons and one hundred thousand aeons, and a Paccekabuddha can only appear when there is no fully Enlightened Buddha in the world. When there is a fully Enlightened Buddha, there is no Paccekabuddha. Currently there is no Paccekabuddha because we are still in the period of Buddha Shakyamuni's teachings. Thus a Paccekabuddha can appear only in the interval between the two Buddhas. The Paccekabuddhas are higher than the Arhat, but lower than the Fully Enlightened Buddha. Fully Enlightened Buddha: Buddha is a noble being. A Buddha who has completely eliminated all defilements, leaving no residue at all. He is the All-Knowing - knowing all things - having great compassion and countless other good qualities. Arhats also eliminate all mental defilements, but arhats cannot eliminate disability money. Money handicaps are habits of body and speech. The Buddha removed all defilements in the mind and also all predispositions. For example, there are arhats who have money with disabilities, so their words seem rude and rude. There was an Arahant who sometimes when he talked to someone, the first sentence he used to say was, “Hey, that brat, how are you? Did you come to visit me?" Because many previous lives this Arahant was a rich person, a powerful householder, so now, even though he has obtained an Arahant, his handicaps (in terms of body and speech) are still there. Or like Sariputra, in previous lives he had been a monkey many times, so there were times when he walked across a puddle he didn't go around but jumped over. Although the Arahant and the Fully Enlightened Buddha both eliminate defilements, the Buddha's exclusion is complete elimination, leaving no trace of defilements. The Buddha is the Perfectly Enlightened One, he has wisdom to understand all things in the world, which means that when he wants to know something, he immediately knows it without going through any intermediary. It is a precious characteristic of the Buddha that the Arahant does not have. Next, the Buddha has great compassion (Mahā Karuṇā), the Arahants also have compassion, but only ordinary compassion (karuṇā). We also have compassion, but it's ordinary compassion. Buddha's compassion is called great compassion because the Buddha made great sacrifices. Over many lifetimes he made sacrifices to be able to help sentient beings save themselves. The Buddha has innumerable noble and precious qualities. To become a Buddha, one must practice the Bodhisattva vows. There are three classes of Bodhisattvas: Bodhisattva Wisdom, Bodhisattva Faith, and Bodhisattva Effort. Wisdom Bodhisattva is a Bodhisattva with great wisdom that surpasses the two factors of faith and diligence, Must practice for four Earth kalpas and one hundred thousand earth kalpas. Faith Bodhisattva is a bodhisattva whose faith surpasses the two factors of wisdom and diligence, must practice for eight earthly kalpas and one hundred thousand earth kalpas. Effort Bodhisattva is a bodhisattva whose diligence surpasses the two factors of wisdom and faith, must practice sixteen earth kalpas and one hundred thousand earth kalpas. A bodhisattva must fully practice the Ten Pāramī Dharmas. When a Bodhisattva completes Pāramī, he fulfills all kinds of Pāramī. There are ten types of Pāramī, and each is divided into three degrees or grades: Ordinary, Medium, and Highest. The future Buddha must fully practice all three classes of Pāramī. Ordinary class: Determined to complete Pāramī even if you have to sacrifice all your possessions or possessions. Middle class: Determined to complete Pāramī even though you have to sacrifice limbs or parts of the body such as ears, eyes, nose... Highest grade: Determined to complete Pāramī even if you have to sacrifice your own life. The bodhisattva must sacrifice even his own life for the sake of others. Regardless of birth, Bodhisattvas always do works that bring benefit and happiness to all sentient beings. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to fully practice the Pāramīs. For us, even the first level is difficult to do. We cannot give all our possessions to others. When we give, maybe we give a little, but not all because we think about our own survival. But the Bodhisattva is not like that. When the bodhisattva gives, he gives everything like a pot of water that has turned upside down without a single drop in it. By perfecting the bodhisattva vows like this, the bodhisattva becomes a buddha. If you had the vow to become a Buddha, which bodhisattva practice would you choose to practice? First class, second or third rank? For us, the time for a bodhisattva to practice diligently is too long. But I do know a monk whose vows to become a Buddha and practice according to this third class of Bodhisattva Effort. A very slow learning monk. You cannot memorize quickly. To memorize a verse, this monk must read it up to a hundred times. He often holds a rosary while studying. When he finished reading the verse, the monk recited a rosary, and so on one hundred and eight times, after completing a rosary, he memorized a verse. Thanks to diligent study, he became a very good monk. He wrote many books, and at the end of the book he wrote: "Due to the merit of writing this book for the benefit of all, I vow to become a Buddha, with outstanding diligence." . So, This person has aspiration to become a Buddha for the longest time. It's so admirable. We have mentioned the classes of beings on the way of spiritual development: From top to bottom, the Buddha is first, followed by the Paccekabuddha, the Arhat (Three Arahants: Upper Thu Thinh Van, Dai Thinh Van, Thinh Van Thuong, A Na Ham, Tu Da Ham, Tu Da Hoan, two classes of secular people: (worldly people understand, secular people are blind, including Bodhisattvas). here about the noun Arahant.Each time we refer to the word Arahant, we imply that it is a Thirteenthir, the Buddha's disciples, but the Buddha is also an Arahant, The Paccekabuddha is also an Arahant.Do you remember that the Buddha had nine virtues: Appreciation, Right Understanding, Happiness, Goodness, Understanding the World, Unsurpassed Master Ruler, and Heavenly Human. Monk, Buddha, The Blessed One (Arahaṁ, Sammā-sambud-dho, Vijjācaraṇa-sampanno, Sugato, Loka-vidū, Anuttararo Purisa-dammasārathi, Satthā-deva-manussanaṁ, Buddho, Bhagava). Thus, Arahantship or Appreciation is a virtue of the Buddhas. The word Arahant is used to refer to the qualities of the Fully Enlightened Buddha, the Paccekabuddha and the Buddha's disciples or disciples, but most of us use the word Arahant to refer to the disciples of the Buddha. only attained Arahantship. We need to keep in mind the meaning of the word Arahant when reading Buddhist books to know which passage is used for what meaning. Since this is a basic lecture, we are only going to get a general overview, if you don't understand all these brief explanations, don't be disappointed. Here we are only looking at the different classes of Enlightened people and distinguishing them according to their qualities. If you don't remember all of the above qualities and categories of saints, that's okay too. You just need to remember that: there are four saints namely Tu Da Hoan, Tu Da Ham, A Na Ham, Arahant and Paccekabuddha, the Buddha of Perfect Enlightenment is enough. I told you there are only four Enlightened Ones, but actually how many Enlightened ones are there? I won't preach here, but I will ask you? How much? Eight isn't it? I only mentioned four here. Because when reaching the heart of Tu Da Hoan is called a person with the heart of Tu Da Hoan (or Tu Da Hoan Dao). At the time of reaching Tu Da Hoan fruit mind, we call it Tu Da Hoan Fruit (or Tu Da Hoan Fruit). The citta path lasts only a moment – ​​a very short time, a billionth of a second. For one brief moment he is a person, but in the next he is another person, but normally we just say a person attains Tu Da Hoan or Tu Da Ham results etc... In order not to confuse you, I just say there are four Enlightened ones. You may have heard of the eight Enlightenment, both are correct.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.28/5/2021.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNMAESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.