Life of a monk under the Buddha in the world.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH. PHKH - The content and meaning of this article is not outside the spirit of 'Wen Co tri Tan'. With that spirit, the writer firstly, based on the Nikaya scriptures, introduces 'Life of a monastic during the Buddha's time in the world', or rather, the writer wants to refer to the spirit of duty and responsibility. responsibilities of the monastic. Anyone living in society has duties and responsibilities, whether small or large, old or young. Commentary Buddhism does not have a fixed form of practice as the standard for all Buddhist activities. The form of living as well as the method of practice in Buddhism is always 'accidental', which means that depending on different bases and circumstances, a different method of practice or living is formed. This we find not only in the scriptures of Mahayana Buddhism but also in the Nikayas [1] or Agama [2]., are the earliest appearing canonical. That suggests to us that we should not cling to a fixed form of life or practice as a standard, thereby intending to refute other activities, of course. That activity or practice tends to lead the practitioner to the goal of attaining enlightenment and liberation. Therefore, in the content of this article, I do not intend to denounce other forms of life or practice, but simply do a simple job of introducing readers to the life of the holy Buddha. Theravada Buddhism, specifically in the Nikayas, records the life of a monk during the Buddha's lifetime. Thereby, it allows us to understand and know the daily life and practice of the monk in the Buddha's time in the world, and how Buddhism has evolved so far. It is the basis for us to understand what is the spirit of education and what is the form of education of the Buddha, certainly we can draw many valuable lessons from the past, and it will help us. firmly form a model of living, a method of practice suitable to the present life and the needs of society, and orient a type of future activity that we do not feel surprised before. With the change of living form of Buddhism and the change of society, with such awareness, our daily practice life will have happiness and peace. With that spirit, Purpose of living the holy life of monastics If we carefully study the two systems of the Nikayas and the A-functions, we all have a common view that these two systems of scriptures confirm that: The sole purpose of the monastic is to achieve success. enlightenment and liberation. That means confirming that, because I have not been enlightened, I want to go forth to become enlightened, because I have not been liberated, I want to become ordained to be liberated, it doesn't make sense before I have become enlightened and liberated. , so when he had just left home, he immediately set up a temple to set up a monastery to save sentient beings. Try asking what to save? Say to help the poor but have no resources to save? Speaking of saving sentient beings but the Buddha Dharma itself does not know, the practice is not good, what do you use to convert? Suppose, if there is a will to save birth, it will only appear after leaving home, going through a period of practice, Once he has attained the precepts, attained meditation and wisdom, he will make the vow to save birth, or at least he must understand the Buddha's teachings, then make a vow to teach the Buddha Dharma for others. that is still possible, otherwise the concept of birth is not successful. Therefore, it does not mean simply to go forth from the home life to save birth without having anything to do with Buddhism in itself, which has led to some cases of people after ordination, was ordained, did not undergo training in the life of a holy person, did not study the Buddha's teachings, hurriedly built a religious establishment, established a social charity, eagerly worked on 'forgiveness', while the duty and responsibility of the monastic is to be enlightened and liberated, not yet fulfilled, even the Buddha Dharma does not know anything. so blatantly consider himself to be a person who does the conduct of a monastic, helping sentient beings. Then ask: what to get birth? it is absurd to claim to be a teacher, but illiterate. It is sad that the spirit of the Bodhisattva's conduct, compassion and saving sentient beings of Mahayana Buddhism has been abused indiscriminately and unconsciously. This is the point that Buddhist leaders need to think about. With the purpose of ordination is to seek enlightenment and liberation, so the Buddha instructed his ordained disciples to live a homeless life, away from the noisy and noisy city, to find a peaceful place. such as a forest, a charnel ground, or an empty place to practice meditation, reflect on the nature of the world as impermanent, and at the same time take the spirit of 'minimum desire and contentment' as the principle for a spiritual life. . Perhaps it is because of this life that the Buddha prescribed for a monastic to have 3 basic conditions to protect life. One is 3 y is the dress of the monk must have; The second is that the bowl is a necessary item for the bhikkhu to hold food and drink; Third, a water filter is a necessary item for a monk when living a mobile life in the mountains and forests, when encountering unclean water, it is necessary to purify it before drinking. These three conditions can be said to be three very useful conditions and adapted to the migratory life in the forests and mountains in the ancient times, but it is no longer suitable for the settled life, especially the life in the ancient times. we. This life, which is not only Buddhism, but most people who practice the monastic life of other religions also live like that. Perhaps the Buddha realized that this life really helped the monastic to quickly achieve the goal of enlightenment and liberation, so the Buddha considered it as a necessary life for monastics in the society at that time. , because it is a training life for a person who has just moved from family life to life without family, a person who has just come out of the life of sensuality, practicing the life of celibacy, abstaining from sex. Quiet life in the mountains,[3] , 'Sutra of the Forest' (Vanapatthasutta) [4] .vv The Buddha said that living in the mountains and forests of monastics to help practitioners quickly achieve holy fruit, does not mean only life. Only the mountains and forests have enlightenment and liberation, these two meanings are completely different, it should not be mistakenly viewed as the same. At the same time, life in the forest is the best condition to help us quickly give up all kinds of material desires, such as the 'Dhammadàda sutta' in the 1st volume of the "Middle Way Sutra", the Buddha taught that : "Bhikkhus, be heirs of my Dharma, not heirs of material possessions. I have pity on you and I thought, "How can my disciples be heirs of my Dharma, not heirs of material possessions?". And, bhikkhus, if you are the heirs of my wealth, not the heirs of the Dharma, not only will you become the people for whom it is said: "Both teacher and student are the heirs of wealth, not the heirs of the Dharma", but also I became the person they say: "Both teachers and students are heirs of wealth, not heirs France". [5] Although during the Buddha's time on earth, the objects possessed by the monks and the Buddha were simply robes, bowls, water filters, and sitting tools, but the Buddha relied on human greed and The development of Buddhism, the Buddha predicted in the future, when Buddhist activities become settled, the necessary items for this life will also grow accordingly, so it is difficult for a monk to become a monk. free from the prey of sensual pleasures, the Buddha Dharma also suffers accordingly, the light of the Dharma also gradually dims, not only harming oneself but also harming the Dharma, injuring the Dharma. reputation of the Buddha. Perhaps that is why the Buddha gave this sermon. Venerable Sariputta explained the truth of suffering in the teaching of the truth of suffering including 8 types of suffering, in addition to the first 5 types of suffering, which are birth, old age, sickness, and death, and the five conditions of suffering, which are natural human sufferings, anyone can even those who have attained fruit; The desire to not get suffering, resentment to destroy suffering, and love to separate from suffering are psychological sufferings. The origin of these three types of suffering is ignorance, because of ignorance we seek what is beyond our reach, because of ignorance we do not accept what is ours, because of ignorance we like to grasp. hold on to what it no longer has enough elements to exist. Whatever is created by ignorance, if you want to eliminate it, you must also destroy it from ignorance, which means using wisdom to eliminate ignorance, this is the basic principle in Buddhism. This has profound implications that, Buddhism talks about saving sentient beings from suffering is referring to the psychological suffering, not the natural suffering or helping people to be rich. If we agree with this point of view, then we should do the duty, duty and responsibility of the monastic, to help beings get rid of suffering by helping them to arouse the enlightened characteristic in each being rather than mere comfort or material limitation, which is why the Buddha advised us to do our own duty. If we claim to be the eldest son of the Tathagata, then we should inherit his great career of propagating the Dharma, not inheriting wealth, which is the material things of the world, if we don't do it. If so, doing the opposite is the cause for people in the world to have misunderstandings and ridicule Buddhism. ridicule the pure and pure community of the Sangha, and that is also a factor for the Buddha's teachings to be more and more distant from the world. This is something that every Sangha member needs to think about. The practices of becoming a samana Regarding the holy life of a monk according to the 'Mahāssapura-sutta' in the "Majjhima-Nikaya" volume 1, sutta 39, the Buddha taught the monks as after: “Sammon! Sammon! Monks, the people know that you are. And if you are asked: “Who are you!” You must admit: "We are ascetics". Now, bhikkhus, you have received such a name, and have claimed to be so, then, bhikkhus, you must train yourselves thus: "We will uphold and practice the dharmas become a Sa-mon, the French become a Brahmin. Thus, this name of ours is true and this self-identification of ours is true. And the offerings that we enjoy, such as clothes, alms food, sitting chairs, and medicines to treat diseases, will have great results and great benefits for us. And we are not useless, have results, have achievements." [6] .In my opinion, the content and meaning of the above-mentioned passage is the Buddha's passage about the duties and responsibilities of a Buddhist monk. The word samana is a common word that the Indians refer to for monastics to live the holy life, but in this sutta the word is used by the Buddha to refer to bhikkhus and bhikkhunis, or rather, monastics live according to the Buddha's enlightenment and liberation. The Buddha advised the bhikkhus that, when we confess ourselves as monastics who are ordained disciples according to the Buddha, we must fulfill our duties and responsibilities to fulfill the status of a bhikkhu who is a disciple of the Buddha. Buddha. The Buddha is a person who advocates taking wisdom (panna) as a career, taking meditation as a means to deepen insight, taking the precepts as a standard for a moral life, we must also study and practice according to his teachings, if the bhikkhus do so, the duty and responsibility of the bhikkhu will be fulfilled. The way of the bhikkhu is also obtained from that, we live in the Buddha's teachings and do not become useless. Then what is the duty and responsibility that the bhikkhu does? In addition, a monk who is a monastic must live a family life, live alone in secluded places, such as forests, mountains, open fields... eat one meal a day, take alms to support his body. He also has to: 1). Consolidate body and mind by virtue, 2). Maintain the apartments, 3). Moderate eating and drinking, 4). Vigilant attention, 5). Mindfulness awareness, 6). Subtract 5 hindrances, 7). Accomplish 4 meditations. These seven dhammas are the necessary factors for becoming a bhikkhu, also thanks to these seven dharmas the bhikkhu attains arahantship. These 7 methods we will be sequentially analyzed and explained as below. first). Live with virtue In the past several thousand years ago, people's intellectual activity was still low, social life was still uncivilized and backward, political and social life had not yet formed laws to manage people, the natural role Religion plays an important role in maintaining orderly life in society, restraining the development of the natural human lustful nature by praising the moral life, restraining the desire instinct. desires of people, in order to bring a peaceful and happy life for themselves and for the whole society. The ethical concept in Buddhism is not only limited to solving social problems but also manifests the specificity of Buddhism as enlightenment and liberation, because the moral spirit or precepts of Buddhism have a purpose. The goal towards enlightenment and liberation is not only the morality of the world, so it is the moral spirit or precepts of Buddhism that must take the basis of non-greed, non-hatred and non-delusion as a basis, not a form. consciousness of the precepts. As the 'Sutta of Right View' (Sammāditthi sutta) in the 'Middle Way Sutra' the Buddha explains the clear difference between the two concepts 'good' and 'fundamental'; 'unwholesome' and 'fundamental unwholesome' are as follows: "Friends, when a noble disciple understands the unwholesome roots and the wisdom understands the root of the unwholesome, the wise understands the wholesome root and the wise understands the root wholesome, then the noble disciple has the right view, the knowledge has the right view. righteous, having absolute faith in the Dharma, and accomplishing this wonderful Dharma." “What, dear friends, is unwholesome, what is an unwholesome root, what is wholesome, what is a wholesome root? Venerables, killing is unwholesome, taking what is not considered unwholesome, engaging in sexual misconduct is unwholesome, lying is unwholesome, double-tongued is unwholesome, evil speech is unwholesome, frivolous talk is unwholesome. wholesome, lust is unwholesome, hatred is unwholesome, wrong view is unwholesome. Chu Hien, this is called unwholesome." "And what is an unwholesome root, sages? Greed is the unwholesome root, hatred is the unwholesome root, and delusion is the unwholesome root. Chu Hien, this is called the unwholesome root." “And, dear friends, what is good? Abstaining from killing is good, abstaining from taking what is not supposed to be good, abstaining from sexual misconduct is good, abstaining from lying is good, abstaining from double-tongued speech is good, abstaining from evil speech is good, abstaining from To say that frivolous is good, not covetous is good, not hateful is good, right view is good. Chu Hien, this is called good." “Venerables, what is the root of goodness? Non-greed is a wholesome root, non-hatred is a wholesome root, non-delusion is a wholesome root. Chu Hien, this is called the root of goodness." [7] The meaning of the above passage suggests to us that the concept of 'good' or 'unwholesome' is different from the concept of 'good root' or 'unwholesome root'. This distinction, the Buddha wanted to show us clearly the difference between 'form' and 'spirit'. Form is what is specified concretely, not abstractly. For example, in the Buddhist precepts stipulates that a monk must have three basic conditions before he wants to be ordained before he wants to receive the full precept, also known as the bhikkhu's precepts, which are: y, bowl, and water filter. water filter). These specific regulations are based on the actual life of the bhikkhus during the Buddha's time in the world, the homeless life, wandering around in the mountains and forests, feeding themselves by means of almsgiving, no must be settled life. These 3 conditions become indispensable things for a monk who lives a homeless life in the mountains and forests, clothes to wear, bowls and bowls that are used to store food offerings by donors and filter water for him. A monk living in the mountains, when encountering stagnant water, pond water, crevices, creeks... the water is not clean, it needs to be filtered before drinking. These 3 conditions are prescribed by the Buddha to protect the life of a monk to have health and practice, it does not mean that a monk is required to have these 3 conditions, it is only valid when Any monk who lives a migratory life, has no home, lives in the mountains and forests, so we should not have the misconception that eating from a bowl and carrying a filter is called tu... We base ourselves on that. Where do you make this point? The point on which we base ourselves is the point on which the Buddha explained that 'good' is different from 'fundamental good'. 'Good' is the precepts, synonymous with the form, 'fundamental' is the non-greed, the hatred and the non-delusion, which is the spirit of Buddhism. The established form must be based on the spirit, but the form is something that can be established at random, so the form is limited by time and space; spirit is the infinite, which is not limited by space and time, what is limited by time and space that is not truth; that which is not limited is the truth. Thus, what is valuable when the causal factor is still there will also become useless when its cause and condition are gone. In the same way, in the Buddhist precepts, there are quite a few precepts that are established depending on the time, place, and base, when its context is no longer there, the form of that precept will no longer be valid. again, whether we think like this or that, the truth is still the truth. However, we need to note one thing that although the form of the precept is no longer valid, its spirit is certainly valid forever, because the precept is established on the basis of non-greed and non-hatred. and infallible. This is the meaning of the sentence: 'Y sutras explain the three worlds of Buddha's injustice, the most isolated sutra is the same magic theory' or in the sutras of Mahayana Buddhism the Buddha said: 'Forty-nine years I did not say a word'. Why are the three canon of scriptures taught by him, but he denied, because they are all appearances depending on the time, place, and different bases, we should not rely on that? think that the Buddha is like this or that. What he meant was the inner meaning of that formal language, if we want to know the spirit of the Buddha's education, Back to the issue we are discussing. What is called a virtuous life? In the spirit of the Nikayas, the Buddha explained that a virtuous life is a life of knowledge, living with three pure karmas and a pure life, thus called a virtuous life. First of all, let's find out how the meaning of 'eternal treasure' is explained by the Buddha. Know how to treasure 'Precious' means to be ashamed, which means that when we do something wrong, we must be ashamed of that mistake, have a repentant attitude to repent of that sin. Because of its nature, so in the process of Buddhist practice, the Buddha took the virtue of preciousness as the first condition in his practice of becoming a monk. As in the 'Maha-Assapura-sutta' the Buddha taught: “What, bhikkhus, are the dharmas that make up a recluse, and the dharmas that become a brahmin? "We will achieve the noble three," thus, monks, you must practice." [8] The content of this sutta, the Buddha said, that the first principle to form a samana is 'knowing the good qualities'. Why did the Buddha take this dharma as the basis for his practice? In the sense of the noble dharma is 'to be ashamed' of one's faults. From this sense we proceed to analyze what it has to do with our practice. If we agree with the concept of practice in Buddhism is the modification of three karmic actions: body karma, speech karma, and mental karma. If we define tu as 'correcting' then we need to know clearly not only what is wrong but also what is right, when we already know the difference between wrong and right then we can correct what is wrong , if we say practice without knowing what is wrong and what is right, the meaning of practice is not successful. That means before we 'tu' we need to 'know' not 'don't know'. Here the Buddha said that the practice of becoming a recluse is 'accomplishment' or 'knowing what is precious', which means knowing one's mistake, knowing one's mistake, but with a stubborn mind or deliberately concealing one's guilt and not feeling bad about making a mistake, such a state of mind is 'unpredictable'. A state of mind without shame is an attitude of not wanting to correct one's mistakes, an obstacle to the arising of kusala, a mind without the seeds of kusala, only the seeds of greed and hatred. hatred and delusion, which indicates a mind without peace and happiness, such a mind is a mind without 'practice', In contrast, a person who is ashamed is someone who not only knows his wrongdoing but also has a shameful attitude of repentance and wants to correct his mistakes. With such a mind, one will surely make progress, every minute and every second washing away his unwholesome thoughts, the seeds of kusala are always racing to bloom, for the mind of shame is the wall that separates him. To prevent unwholesome dharmas from entering his body and mind, it is also a good condition for the bodhi seed to arise. The importance of shame is so important that in this sutra the Buddha took it as the first principle for the process of cultivation or the practice of becoming a recluse. That is also why the Buddha advised Rahula (Rahula): “Rahula, for anyone who knows a lie and has no evil qualities, in my time I say that he has no evil that he does not do. Therefore, Rahula, "I am determined not to lie, even if I speak to play," Rahula, you must learn like that. [9] . This teaching, the Buddha warned us that, if anyone does wrong things without being ashamed of himself, that person can't do any evil things that he can't do. For example, a black shirt is dirty and old, if it has any dust on it, it does not make us feel uncomfortable, because the person's mind thinks that this shirt is old and dirty. It doesn't matter if it gets dusty. So this shirt is free to dust. In the same way, a person who does evil deeds but is not ashamed of his wrongdoing, thus trained in mind, at some point his mind feels normal to do evil deeds; A small evil deed, if we feel normal without feeling ashamed, gradually become a habit, that person will do bigger and more heinous evil deeds. That's why the Buddha taught Rahala that: those who know and tell lies, have no virtue, I say that he has no evil that he does not do. This is also the meaning in this sutra, the Buddha took the Dharma of knowing the three precious gems as the first dharma to become a bhikkhu. 3 pure karma The second dharma of 'Living with virtue' is the three pure karmas. In Mahayana Buddhism, there is a saying that 'beings have eighty-four thousand defilements, Buddha also has eighty-four thousand methods of practice'. In fact, the practice in Buddhism is simply the modification or transformation of the three karmas of body, speech and mind. Body karma is the behavior of the body; oral karma are acts of the mouth; Consciousness is the action that belongs to the domain of consciousness. The actions in our daily lives do not go beyond these three areas, if we do not express it with our bodies, we will express it with our mouths, and before we manifest in our bodies or our mouths, our conscious mind ponders over it. think calculation. Evil deeds come from here, good deeds also come from here; Suffering is created by karma, happiness is also caused by karma. Thus our whole daily activity is nothing beyond the three karmas. Perhaps that is why the Buddha advised us to purify the three karmas. “What, bhikkhus, is more work that should be done? “Our physical actions must be purified…. Our speech must be pure….Our mind must be pure, righteous, open, unblemished, concealed.” [ten] The word 'pure' here, we should not misunderstand that the Buddha advised us not to work with our body, not to speak with our mouth, not to think in our mind, but the Buddha advised us to do the right thing in our body, good deeds, The mouth should speak at a reasonable time [11] and the mind should think in accordance with the principle of 'reasoning attention' [12], which means that the morality of things is like that, you should think, speak and act like that, not the thinking of your imagination, speaking falsely and acting improperly. The topic of explaining the three-karma training method in the 'Rahula Precepts Sutra' in the 'Middle Department' of the Buddha's analysis is very clear. The method of analyzing the three karmas of this sutra, the Buddha based on the three time hooks, the present future and the past, to analyze the three karmas of body, speech and mind. Therefore, where we inquire into the content and meaning of this sutra is also in this order. b1. For bodily karma that I want to do (will do) First of all, the body wants to do, in the 'Rahula Precepts Sutra' (Ambalatthik à Ràhulovàda sutta) the Buddha analyzed as follows: “Rahula, when you want to do something bodily, reflect on it as follows: “This body of mine can lead to self-harm, it can lead to harm to others, it can lead to harm to both; At this time, this bodily karma is unwholesome, leading to suffering, bringing about suffering results.”… Such a bodily karma, Rahula, you definitely do not do. Rahula, if, after reflection, you know: "This body of karma I want to do. This bodily karma of mine can't lead to self-harm, can't lead to harm to others, can't cause harm to both; At this time, this bodily kamma is good, leads to happiness, and brings about peaceful retribution. Such a bodily karma, Rahula, you should do. “ [13] The Buddha advised us to want to do (will do) something physically, first of all we should consider thinking about it very clearly, after thinking if we feel it is unwholesome, it will bring suffering to ourselves for others, for both of us, we should not do that. On the contrary, if we feel that what we want to do is a good thing, it brings peace to ourselves, to others, to both, then we should do it. b2. For relatives doing business Next is bodily karma doing in this same sutra, the Buddha analyzed as follows: “Rahula, when you are doing a bodily kamma, you should reflect on it as follows: 'This body action I am doing. This bodily karma of mine leads to self-harm, to harm to others, to harm to both; this body-karma is unwholesome, leading to suffering; bring painful retribution….Rahula, please give up such a bodily karma. But if, Rahula, while reflecting, you know thus: 'This body of karma I am doing. This bodily karma of mine does not lead to self-harm, does not lead to harm to others, does not lead to harm to both; At this time, this bodily kamma is good, leads to happiness, and brings about peaceful retribution. Such bodily karma, Rahula, you must continue to do.” [14] . Likewise, when we are doing a bodily kamma, we need to reflect on it. After reflecting, we know that it is unwholesome. If we continue to do it, it will bring suffering to ourselves, others and others. for both, we need to give up doing it. On the contrary, after reflecting, knowing that it is a good thing, if doing it will bring happiness and peace for ourselves, for people for both, then we should continue to do it. b3. For the karma that has been done Next is the bodily karma done, also in the 'Rahula Precepts' the Buddha explains as follows: “After you have done a bodily kamma, Rahula, you should reflect on it as follows: 'This body action I have done. This bodily karma of mine leads to self-harm, to harm to others, to harm to both; At this time, this bodily kamma is unwholesome, leads to suffering, and brings the retribution of suffering." ….A body like this, Rahula, You need to speak up, need to reveal, need to present before the Guru, or before the wise companions of the holy life. After speaking, revealing, presenting, it is necessary to protect in the future. If in reflection, Rahula, you know thus: 'This body of karma I have done. This bodily karma does not lead to self-harm, does not lead to harm to others, does not lead to harm to both; At this time, this body and karma is good, leads to peace, and brings happy retribution." Therefore, Rahula,[15] For an event that has been completed, it is necessary to reflect and consider what has been done, if it is clear that what has been done leads to self-harm, harm to people, harm to both, that is unwholesome action. With such a body of karma, we need to go before a guru or a wise teacher to present our wrongdoing and show a genuine attitude of wanting to repent and not repeat it. On the contrary, after reflecting clearly, we know that what we have done does not harm ourselves, harm others and harm both. This bodily karma is friendly karma, we should rejoice and continue to do such deeds. This is the body karma of the three times explained in a very thorough way by the Buddha. Next is speech and mind karma. According to the presentation of this sutra, the Buddha explained about urgent karma and mental karma also based on the three time hooks, which are speech and mind karma intended to perform; password and intention of doing business; and done speech and mind karma, the interpretation of these two karmas is the same as bodily karma, only the difference is that the word 'body karma' is replaced by the word 'speech or mind karma', to avoid duplication So here I continue to explain. Through the content and meaning of reflecting on the three karmas, it reminds us that it is important to realize that the method of practice in this sutra is very specific and very clear, not vaguely abstract, anyone Understandable and anyone can do it. If the monks often reflect on the 3 karmas every day, the 3 karmas will definitely be purified, living the monastic life will not become useless, the monk's character is also achieved through this, setting an example. light for life. With such a status, surely the worldly people not only do not despise him, but also praise him, and the Buddhadharma also shines brighter and brighter in the world thanks to that. If we are laypeople, practice the cultivation method by reflecting on these three karmas, we will certainly become a good person in the family and in society. In our business, it is also through reflection and daily inspection that we know what causes failure and which causes success. We are a good person in the family and in society, our business is getting better and better, without reason we will suffer and sorrow, on the contrary, that person will have much peace and happiness in life. Pure life The second dharma of the 'Virtuous Life' is a pure life. Here, the content and meaning of this word for the way of life of a bhikkhu must be purified. Concerning the purity of life in the 'Mahā-Assapura-sutta', the Buddha taught: What, bhikkhus, is the work worth doing more? “Our lives must be pure, righteous, open, without blemish or concealment. [16] According to the Buddha, a monk is a person who lives consciously, feeling that life is temporary, suffering a lot, so he or she leaves home, leaves home, lives without family, with the aspiration to seek enlightenment. enlightenment and liberation. For the purpose of fulfilling this noble purpose, during the Buddha's time in the world, the Buddha stipulated that monastics should take the spirit of 'lack of education' as the standard, and nourish themselves with life. For real, consider eating as a way of keeping healthy to advance in the path of cultivation, not for the sake of appetite, for improper purposes. However, when Buddhism is growing more and more developed, the number of monks and elders is increasing, especially Buddhism is supported by the king and the rich, who ordained for the wrong purpose. accordingly joined the sangha, living a debauched life, taking advantage of the monastic appearance for personal gain, or not living a life of altruism to support themselves, but living by illegal occupations, such as fortune-telling, fortune-telling, asking for tattoos... and today many careers arise business even worse. As a monastic living with such a profession, the Buddha called it "evil life" not genuine, not adapted to the life of a monastic, contrary to his spirit of ordination, moreover with life. As such, it obstructs one's goal of enlightenment and liberation. 2). Maintain the apartments Of the dharmas of becoming a recluse, the second is 'protection of the senses'. Regarding this practice, there are many sutras in the Ajah or Nikaya sutras that refer to the practice of maintaining these faculties. Here, because of the unifying nature of explaining the process of practice in the 'Great Sutta', it is necessary to base on the interpretation of this sutta, while analyzing if there is any unclear point we will proceed. use other sutras to clarify the matter. According to the 'Great Horse Village' (Mahà -Assapura-sutta) explains the meaning of 'protection of the senses' as follows: “What, monks, is the work worth doing more? “We have to protect the apartments. When the eyes see form, do not grasp general signs, do not grasp individual signs. What are the causes that cause the eye not to be subdued, causing craving, grief, evil, and unwholesome states to arise, we will control that cause ourselves, protect the eye, practice eye protection? . When the ear hears the sound… the nose smells the incense… the tongue tastes the taste… the body feels… the mind perceives the dharmas, not grasping the general signs, not holding the individual characteristics. What are the causes that cause the mind-faculty not to be subdued, causing craving, grief, compassion, evil, and unwholesome states to arise, we will control that cause ourselves, protect the mind-base, practice mind-guarding? apartment". Thus, monks, you should practice." [17] The content and meaning of the passage just quoted above, the Buddha advised the monks to protect the senses. Here, the word 'senses' refers to the six senses, i.e. the eye faculty, the ear faculty, the billions sense, the tongue faculty, the body faculty, and the mind faculty. The first 5 are the organs that contact the outside world, such as the eye-sense, which is used to contact forms, the ear-sense, which is in contact with sounds, and the nose-sense, which is in contact with odors. The sense of smell, the sense of tongue is the organ that contacts sweet tastes, the body sense is the organ of contact with all kinds of bodily emotions, and the mind sense is the organ of contact with dharmas which are images taken from the five worlds. externally, simply put, the dharmakaya is the object of consciousness in the twelve sense bases. Here the Buddha advises the bhikkhus: "When the eyes see form, do not grasp the general characteristics, do not grasp the individual characteristics. What are the causes that cause the eye not to be subdued, causing craving, grief, evil, and unwholesome states to arise, we will control that cause ourselves, protect the eye, practice eye protection? .” The content and meaning of this teaching, the Buddha advised the monks to 'protect the eye'. Here we should understand that protecting the eye does not mean keeping the eye from getting sick without letting the mind generate anger or greed whenever we are faced with rupa, because rupa is of two kinds, beauty and ugly form, when our eyes see the object as beauty, the mind immediately arises craving for that beauty, when the mind has arisen craving, our mind stops there whose mind wants to take that beauty of its own, thus suffering states arise accordingly; Conversely, if our eyes see objects as ugly rupa, objects that we don't want to see, but we still have to look at them, we still have to face them, so the states of suffering also depend on them. that is born. This is the meaning that the Buddha advises bhikkhus, not to fixate on general and specific characteristics, and what causes cause craving to arise, we need to control those causes. In addition, when the ear hears sounds, the nose smells scents, the tongue tastes flavors, and the body feels all kinds of hard and soft emotions, it also has the same meaning. So how do we stop craving when we meet an object we like, as well as aversion when we meet an object we don't like? Do we not see forms, do not hear sounds, do not smell persons, do not taste flavors, do not touch with the body? As a human being and a normal human being without mental illness, anyone who wants to live, when he wants to live, his six senses must be active, and he must be in contact with the six senses. How to contact is the problem, telling the difference between the knowledgeable and the ignorant or in the Buddhist professional terms called wisdom and no wisdom. A person with wisdom is one who, when in contact with the six sense objects, i.e., form, sound, smell, taste, touch and dharmas, does not cause his mind to be shaken, and vice versa, a person without wisdom when he comes into contact with the 6 cetasikas, he will be attracted by the 6 cetasikas and shake his mind. So the main issue here is whether there is wisdom or no wisdom. Then what is called wisdom? To answer this question, here we borrow the question and answer between the Buddha and Aggivessana to clarify the issue: - Hey Aggivessana, what do you think? Is form permanent or impermanent? - Impermanent, Venerable Gotama.- What is impermanent is that suffering or pleasure? - It is suffering, Venerable Gotama. - What is impermanent, suffering, perishable; Is it reasonable to properly contemplate that: "This is mine, this is me, this is my self"? - No, Venerable Gotama.- Hey Aggivessana, what do you think? Life… (as above)… thought… (as above)… actions… (as above)… Hey Aggivessana, what do you think? Is consciousness permanent or impermanent? - Impermanence, Venerable Gotama. What is impermanent is suffering or pleasure? - It is suffering, Venerable Gotama. - What is impermanent, suffering, changing; Is it reasonable to properly contemplate that: "This is mine, this is me, this is my self"? - No, Venerable Gotama. [18] Through the content of this question and answer, it suggests to us to realize one thing, that the nature of forms, sounds, tastes, smells, tactile sensations and dhammas is impermanent, arising and passing away, not a single thing. What dhammas are dharmas that do not arise and fall away, because their formation is inherently caused by the combination of causes and conditions, when causes and conditions are no longer present, they immediately disintegrate, when causes and conditions exist, they must exist, thus in the consciousness of We wish for it to exist, it cannot exist, because predestined conditions are no more. In the same way, even if our consciousness wishes for them to disappear, they cannot disappear, because their causes and conditions remain. Thus, what we want without being born suffers, and what we don't like but still exists is also suffering. We want to get rid of these sufferings, the only way we have to properly realize the nature of things is that dependent origination is impermanent. If we have such awareness, when we are faced with a beautiful object, we will not be swayed by beauty, and our mind will not waver when we are faced with ugly form. angry. This is the meaning of the second dharma, the protection of the senses, presented by the Buddha in this sutra. 3). Cut down on eating The third Dharma to form a monk is 'Abstinence in eating and drinking'. Concerning this issue according to the 'Great Sutra of Horses' (Mahà -Assapura-sutta) explained by the Buddha as follows: “What, monks, is the work worth doing more? “We must know moderation in eating and drinking, with right thinking, we eat food, not for fun, not for passion, not for decoration, not to beautify ourselves, but only for this body is long lived and maintained, to avoid injury, to support the holy life…. Thus, monks, you should practice." [19] The content and meaning of this passage, the Buddha advised the monks to abstain from eating and drinking. In my opinion, there are several reasons why the Buddha advised the monks to abstain from eating and drinking. First, the method of practice of the monks at that time was to practice meditation. If eating too much in the afternoon would cause obstacles to sitting in meditation, it would be easy to get drowsy, ie easy to fall asleep; Second, the life of the Sangha when the Buddha was still alive was a life in the mountains and forests, far from the village, so it was very inconvenient to beg for food; Third, because contemporary society is not a society with a high economic life, but a backward agricultural life, moreover, the life of the Sangha is completely dependent on donations from donors. Therefore, the monks need to abstain from eating and drinking, to avoid troubles for lay Buddhists, so monastics only eat one meal a day at midday. Moreover, Buddhism considers the matter of eating very lightly, considers eating and drinking as taking medicine, to maintain the body and life, because this body and life is like a boat to cross the berth of enlightenment, so eating The drink of the export is not the same as that of a secular person, not because of passion, because of nutrition, because of jewelry... but eating to live to practice. The monastic life in the Buddha's time compared to life now is much different, in the factors that advise monastics to abstain from eating and drinking, including the factor because the socio-economic life is still low, of course with This factor is the opposite of our time, especially life in rich countries like Western countries, which means that we should not be too attached to this form. However, in our time, because of the excess of material things, another problem arises, the suffering of today is not lack of food but overeating. Food is too much, eat too much, the human body produces many diseases that arise from overeating, such as diabetes, in which obesity is alarming. Through the facts from society, it suggests to us to realize that, In our time, if a monk knows moderation in eating and drinking, he will surely reduce many diseases from eating, have a healthy body, practice for himself and perform his duties. It is better to propagate the Buddha's teachings than one who has an illness; If a lay Buddhist knows how to moderate his eating and drinking, his body will be healthy, his practice will also be more favorable and more diligent. 4). Pay attention The practice of becoming the fourth recluse is 'watchful attention'. This Dharma is intended to help the practitioner train his mind to always be attentive to all his actions and gestures, and to be on guard against evil and unwholesome states from entering his body and mind. Thanks to the mind that has 'watchful attention', the meditator can take the next step of 'mindfulness and awareness', with the aim of easily entering the 4 jhānas. With regard to 'harmonious attention', in this 'Maha-Assapura-sutta', the Buddha explains as follows: “What, monks, is the work worth doing more? “We have to be vigilant. During the day when walking (or) while sitting, we must clear our mind of all hindrances. During the night, while walking (or) while sitting, we must cleanse our mind of all hindrances. In the middle of the night, we have to lie down in the lion's position, leaning on the right hand side, one foot on the other, mindful and alert, thinking about waking up again. Waking up at night, walking (or) while sitting, we must clear our minds of all hindrances.” Thus, monks, you should practice." [20] In this sutra the Buddha describes the state of 'vigilant attention' as: Regardless of day or night, when a bhikkhu is walking, while sitting or lying down, his mind should be alert. Whatever evil unwholesome dharmas arise, whatever obstacles arise, need to be cleansed, keeping the mind always pure. It can be said that this is one of the basic measures to train a monk to practice meditation. Because when practicing meditation, when a monk closes all five senses, namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, only one active sense is the mind-base, so it is very active, like The stream is flowing, all the images that were previously kept in the mind or dharma base (the mind-only consciousness is called Alai da consciousness) will overflow and appear, scattering the mind, obstructing the mind. was not attentive, because in his daily life he was not trained to make the mind attentive. When meditators sit in meditation, they want to keep the mind from being scattered, and the mind wanders after the six sense objects, the best way to train the mind every day is to not have to wait until it's time to sit in meditation, but first to train the mind to be able to meditate. attention. In daily life the mind has been well trained, so when sitting in meditation, it is easy for him to fix his mind on an object that he wants to visualize. This is the meaning of 'watchful attention'. 5). Mindfulness awareness The practice of becoming the 5th Samana is 'mindfulness and awareness'. This Dharma is intended to help the bhikkhu to always remain in mindfulness and alertness, thanks to this dhamma it is easy for the bhikkhu to enter into meditation. This Dharma is explained by the 'Great Sutra on Horses' as follows: “What, monks, is the work worth doing more? “We must be mindful and aware, be aware when walking forward, when going back and forth, be aware when looking straight ahead, when looking around, be aware, when bending our arms, when stretching our arms, be aware, when wearing double robes and bowls, The upper robes are all aware; when eating, drinking, chewing, and swallowing, they are alert; when defecating and urinating, they are alert; when walking, standing, lying down, awake, speaking, and being quiet, they are all alert. Thus, monks, you should practice." [21] If the 'watchful attention' is the dharma that helps the practitioner to always live in a state of attentiveness and alertness, monitoring and controlling the mind, if any unwholesome dharmas appear in the body and mind, immediately eliminate the dharmas. Then here the 'mindfulness and awareness' practice mainly helps the practitioner to always live in mindfulness and alertness. What is mindfulness and awareness? The word 'mindfulness' in addition to the meaning of living in the right concept is always related to the mind that is free from greed, anger, hatred and delusion, it also means to fix the mind on the object, not to let the mind wander, This act of not letting the mind wander is 'awakening', which means knowing what to do, so the sutra describes it as when walking, standing and sitting, looking forward, back and forth, when bending and stretching... are all awake. If any bhikkhu practices 'mindfulness and discernment' he is sure to live with a clear mind and very righteous deeds, and the Buddhadharma also does not perish. If you are a lay Buddhist living in this family practice, you will surely have many benefits, not only will you always be at peace in your mind, but also make your family life happier and more confident. than. 6). Subtract 5 hindrances The dharma to become the 6th monk is 'Abandoning the 5 hindrances', which are the obstacles that hinder practitioners from practicing meditation, which are 1. greed, 2. anger, 3. laxity, and 4. excitement, 5. doubt. These 5 dharmas are explained by the 'Great Sutra of Horses' as follows: “What, monks, is the work worth doing more? Here, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu chooses a quiet place, such as a forest, a tree stump, a ravine, a cave, a charnel ground, a grove of trees, the open air, a haystack. After returning from his alms round and having eaten, he sat cross-legged, with his back straight, and abiding mindfully in front of him. He abandons covetousness for the world, lives with a mind free from craving, purifies his mind of craving. Abandoning anger, he lives with a mind free from anger, with loving-kindness and compassion for all sentient beings, purging his mind of anger. Abandoning laxity and laxity, he lives free from dullness and torpor, with his mind directed to the light, mindful and aware, purging his mind of laxity and torpor. Abandoning too much restlessness and regret, he lives without agitation and regrets, inwardly calm, purging his mind of restlessness and regret. Abandoning doubt, he lives free from doubt,[22] After having achieved 'vigilant attention', 'mindfulness and awareness', a bhikkhu should first find a place that is very secluded and quiet, such as a forest, a tree stump, a ravine, a cave, a graveyard. , grove, outdoor, pile of straw. Why does a monk need to choose such a secluded place? Because normally the 5 senses are eyes, ears, nose, tongue, our body wanders according to the 5 sense objects which are form, sound, smell, taste and touch. This wandering has become a daily habit of ours, so it is very difficult for practitioners living in noisy places to practice meditation, the mind is easily distracted and difficult to subdue, that's why the Buddha advise meditators to find a quiet place, because that place is quiet, there is no noise, it is easy for sesshin, and when the mind is still in meditation, it will not be disturbed because of the noise. His mind was disturbed and scattered. After finding a suitable place to be in peace, he sat cross-legged, with his back straight, and abiding mindfully in front of him. It can be said that this is the best zazen posture in Buddhism. The lotus is a relatively stable sitting meditation posture among other postures, the feet are crossed, like two rattan ropes woven together, looks very stable, blood circulation is also easy; The back is straight, the head is slightly tilted down with the eyes half-closed and half-open, and the mindfulness column in front of you. This is a way to meditate so that the body does not get tired, avoid diseases, and at the same time create favorable conditions for the mind to stay in meditation for a long time. After choosing a secluded place, sitting cross-legged and resting in mindfulness in front of him, he entered deep meditation, contemplating seeing the true form of man and the world as impermanent and non-self, so his mind he abandons the first hindrance, which is craving, and lives with a mind free of craving; Abandoning anger, living with a mind free of anger, on the contrary having compassion for all sentient beings; Abandon the drowsy state, live without laxity and slumber, on the contrary, have mindfulness and awareness; Abandoning too much restlessness and regret, he lives without agitation and regrets, inwardly calm, purging his mind of restlessness and regret. Abandoning doubt, he lives free from doubt, without hesitation, purging his mind of doubt about kusala. Thus, he has eliminated the 5 hindrances, this is the only condition for the practitioner to be able to attain the 4 jhānas. 7). Attaining the four jhānas The first meditation According to the 'Great Sutra of Horses', the first state of meditation is explained as follows: “Having abandoned these five hindrances, which pollute the mind and weaken wisdom, he abandons sensual pleasures, abandons evil, realizes unwholesome dhammas, and abides in the first jhāna, a state of bliss due to Separation of sexual desire is born, there is application, there is four." [23] A bhikkhu, after completing the dharmas to become a monk, is to live virtuously, to maintain the senses, to abstain from eating and drinking, to pay attention to vigilance, and to be mindful and aware, he chooses a secluded, peaceful place. dwells mindfulness in front of him, so that he gets rid of the five hindrances and attains the first jhāna. The first jhāna is consistently defined by this and other sutras as: Separation of sensual pleasures from unwholesome dharmas, attainment and residence of the first jhāna, a state of joy and happiness, born of separation from sensual pleasures, with thoughts and desires. That is, the first jhāna state is the state where, after a bhikkhu has renounced lustful things and unwholesome deeds, through this renunciation his mind appears to be in a state of rapture. bliss, in this meditative state there is still application and word, Second meditation Thiền According to the same sutta, the Buddha explained the second jhāna state described as follows: "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu ceases to seek and to four, attains and abides in the second jhāna, a state of rapture born of concentration, free from thought and thought, with one mind inwardly." [24] Based on the basis of the attainment of the first meditation, which is the separation of sensual pleasures from the unwholesome dharma, the practitioner continues to strive to practice and achieve the second. With the state of this jhāna, the meditator must first give up volition and volition, and at the same time also give up the rapture born of detachment from sensual pleasures of the first jhāna, in order to realize the blissful state born of meditative bliss, without range and quartet, with the innermost focus, not scattered. This is the second meditative state. Third meditation Thiền Next comes the third jhāna, the relatively higher jhāna. This meditation is explained by the 'Great Sutra of Horses' as follows: "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu is detached from equanimity, mindfully aware, and feeling with his body the pleasurable feeling that the sages call "relaxed mindfulness of bliss," attaining and abiding in the third jhāna. [25] Completely unlike the previous two jhānas, in this jhāna the meditator must renounce not only the blissful state of the first jhāna, the rapture born of detachment from the unwholesome dharmas, but also the state of renunciation. The bliss of the second jhāna is the bliss born of samadhi, from this equanimity he experiences a kind of bliss that is 'relaxed mindfulness'. This is the third meditative state presented in this sutra. Wednesday meditation Of the four jhāna realms, the fourth jhāna is the highest. When the practitioner attains this jhāna, three wisdoms appear, and the four immeasurable minds are compassion, joy, and equanimity. According to the 'Great Sutra of Horses', the meditation field is explained as follows: "Again, bhikkhus, a bhikkhu releases pleasure and pain, puts an end to joy and sorrow, which he has felt before, and attains and abides in the fourth jhāna, free from pain and pleasure, equanimous with pure mindfulness." [26] If in the first jhāna there is joy and happiness due to the separation of sensual pleasures from unwholesome dharmas, in the second jhāna there is a state of bliss due to the practice of mahāna concentration, but in the third jhāna one has to give up these two types of bliss. abide in the 'discharge' state of mind. But at the fourth jhāna the meditator is not only free from suffering, free from joy and pain, but even the blissful state of equanimity of the third jhāna is also equanimous, he is in a state called 'non-suffering'. not lost, discharge pure thoughts.'. This is the meditative state of the fourth jhāna as recorded in this sutra. I think, if someone who has undergone meditation practice could understand more fully, in terms of words it is difficult to fully describe the psychological states of meditation, we cannot experience the joy of meditation. joys of these jhānas, through experiences of feeling worldly pleasures. Conclude After the Buddha's death, the life of the Sangha also changed in time and space, because changes in the way of life led to disagreements about the precepts and teachings that the Buddha taught. different interpretations from their point of view. This disagreement formed two major schools of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahasanghika. Representing the Theravada sect are the elders who have conservative ideas; The masses are young monks with a liberal spirit of reform. The Nikayas and Ajamas are the earliest compiled texts in Buddhism, the texts of the Theravada school. Although these suttas are suttas compiled during the reign of King Asoka, are sectarian texts, not Theravada, but through these texts we can recover restored the life of the Sangha during the Buddha's time in the world. According to the spirit of the "Great Sutra of Horses" in the "Middle Central Sutra" recorded, when we call ourselves monastic and live the holy life, we must fulfill the duties and responsibilities of the monastic. : Firstly, we must live virtuously; Second, the maintenance of the apartment; Third, abstinence from eating; Fourth, pay attention to be alert; Fifth, mindfulness and awareness; Sixth, cut off the 5 hindrances; Seventh, accomplish 4 meditation. Through these methods of practice, it suggests to us to understand a problem, during the Buddha's time in the world, the purpose of monastics was to seek enlightenment and liberation. The content and meaning of this article is not outside the spirit of 'Wen Co tri Tan'. With that spirit, the writer firstly, based on the Nikaya scriptures, introduces 'Life of a monastic during the Buddha's time in the world', or rather, the writer wants to refer to the spirit of duty and responsibility. responsibilities of the monastic. Anyone living in society has duties and responsibilities, whether small or large, old or young. The monastic, too, has his own duties and responsibilities. Among the duties, the first duty is that we must clearly understand the Buddha's teachings, which serve as a guideline to guide the path of practice and the work of spreading the Buddha's Dharma. Also through the content of this article, it suggests for us to understand the 7 dharmas of becoming a recluse as well as the life form and practice method of the monk in the primitive life. In the social context of our time, although there are many changes, because the life needs of each society are different, so we do not necessarily have to follow the pattern, but even if the change is in the form of Any form, that form of living must also be established in the spirit of 'enlightenment' and 'liberation' of Buddhism. Enlightenment is wisdom or understanding and liberation is happiness or non-attachment, indispensable for that spirit in any form of activity.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.24/5/2021.