Ethics in Buddhist life.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH. we would like to present on the topic: "lifestyle Buddhism", a topic that the Lord Buddha Shakyamuni had preached several times, but specific and clear in the post The Buddha taught his son, Rahula, after he left home. These suttas are available in translations in the 2nd, 61st and 62nd Central Sutras, and in the III and 147th Central Sutras. This sutra was engraved on the Bhàbrà inscription by King Asoka, the fourth century BC, calling on all monastics and lay Buddhists to recite and recite this sutra. We are not Buddha's sons like Rahula, but we are all spiritual children of the Buddha. The loving and wise words of the Buddha. The sincere and wise teachings of the Buddha to Rahula, nearly three thousand years ago in India, are also the teachings for all of us, Vietnamese Buddhists, monastics as well as in Vietnam. family, male and female, young and old. The Buddha said: "Hey, Rahula, what do you think? What is the purpose of the mirror?". Rahula replied: "World Honored One, the purpose is to reflect." "In the same way, the Buddha said: 'O Rahula, after reflecting many times, practice bodily karma; after reflecting many times, practice verbal action; after reflecting many times, practice mental karma. . The religious lifestyle is a way of life that is always reflective, not drifting, not liberal. The mirror that the Buddha said is not a mirror to look at his face, but a mirror of his soul that reflects whether his thoughts, words and deeds are compatible with the religious lifestyle; Buddhist lifestyle, ie as the Buddha taught Rahula, is harmful or not harmful to you; for others, beneficial or unprofitable, for oneself and for others, to bring happiness or cause suffering and unhappiness for oneself and others. Why does the Buddha advise us to reflect many times? This is due to the evolution of karma, which can be divided into three stages: the first stage is the stage of using the mind, also called attention. Usually, we call it will. For example, today is Buddha's Birthday. But right from yesterday and before, someone had the intention to go to the temple today to pay homage to the Buddha, listen to the lecture, do many Buddha works and other good deeds. But there are also those who are probably only a very few on the occasion of Buddha's Birthday, who want to go to see fortune-telling, see math, hope to "go to the bridge" for a trip to develop wealth. Even at this stage of the will, we must reflect, must consider whether such a wish is right or not, suitable or not in accordance with the religious life, the Buddhist way of life, beneficial for ourselves and others. no, bring happiness or cause suffering, for yourself and for others or for both. If, during the period of your will, you reflect and think that on Buddha's birthday, it is inappropriate to go to the fortune-tellers to see maths, to set a bad example of superstition for your wife, children, relatives, friends and others, Please resolutely give up that desire. On the contrary, for the desire to go to the temple, worship the Buddha, listen to lectures, do many Buddha works and other good deeds. If you reflect that this will is good, bringing peace to yourself and others, now and in the future, you should resolutely carry out that will, but also for the sake of the vast majority. You guys had such good intentions, so today we have the good fortune to preach in such a large and enthusiastic assembly. If everything we do, every word we say, every thought we think is carefully considered right from the volition stage, as the Buddha taught Rahula, how many mistakes, crime and misfortune did not happen in this world full of pain. The Buddha said, "Rahula, if, while reflecting, you know, 'This bodily action I wish to do, this bodily action of mine may lead to self-harm, may lead to harm to others, may lead to both This bodily karma is unwholesome, leading to suffering. Such a bodily karma, Rahula, you definitely should not do it. Rahula, if, after reflecting, one knows: "This bodily action I wish to do, this bodily action of mine cannot lead to self-harm, cannot lead to harm to others, cannot lead to harm at all. second, this body karma is good, leads to peace, brings happy retribution. Such a bodily karma is good, Rahula, you should do it." Stage two is the stage one has started to do, is doing. Even in this stage, the stage of work is happening, we still continue to reflect: this is what we are doing or not in accordance with the religious life, the Buddhist way of life, will it cause damage to ourselves, to the world? Does the other person, for both, or vice versa, bring happiness to yourself, to others, to both? If, through reflection, we find that it is harmful to ourselves, to others, to both, then we should resolutely continue to do that, despite difficulties and obstacles. Just like today, you joyfully come here to worship the Buddha, listen to the Dharma lecture, do many good deeds and Buddha activities, in your heart you will feel peaceful, happy, and their wisdom grows. If you think it's worth it, feel free to continue doing it, on this Buddha's birthday as well as on other Buddha holidays, or whenever possible. On the contrary, there are things you are doing, in progress, but in the process of doing, you feel that it is not beneficial for you, for others, or for both, then even if the initial intention is good. Also, you should stop doing it right away. The Buddha taught Rahula that: "Rahula, when you are doing a bodily karma, you should reflect on that body karma as follows: This body karma I am doing, this body karma of mine leads to self-harm. , causing harm to others, causing harm to both, then this bodily kamma is unwholesome, leads to suffering, brings the retribution of suffering. If, in your reflection, you know thus: the bodily karma I am doing now does not lead to self-harm, no When it causes harm to others, it does not lead to harm to both, at that time this bodily kamma is good, leads to happiness, brings about peaceful retribution, such bodily karma, Rahula, you should continue to do." Stage three is the stage when something has been done. We also need to reflect on whether what we have done is suitable or not in accordance with the religious and Buddhist way of life, whether it causes damage or not to ourselves and others, whether it causes damage or not to both of us. , bring peace and happiness or not for yourself and for others or for both. If we reflect and realize that what we have done has caused harm to ourselves and to others or to both, then we must sincerely repent, honestly confess our mistakes to the guru or to the others. fellow practitioners, fellow believers. After that, make up your mind not to do such a harmful deed from now on. But if, through reflection, we realize that what we have done is in accordance with our religious and Buddhist lifestyles, bringing happiness and peace to ourselves and others, or to both, The Buddha himself recommended that Rahula should do the same, after each of his actions: "O Rahula, after you complete a body karma, you need to reflect on that body karma as follows: "This bodily action I have done, this bodily action of mine leads to self-harm, leads to harm to others, leads to the harm of both, then this bodily kamma is unwholesome, leads to suffering, brings suffering retribution, If while reflecting, Rahula, you know as follows: This bodily action I have done, leading to self-harm, to harming others, to harming both, then this bodily kamma is unwholesome and causes pain. suffering, brings suffering results. Such a bodily kamma, Rahula, you need to speak up about, to reveal, to present to your gurus, or to wise fellow Brahmans. Having said, revealed, presented, "Again, if, while reflecting, Rahula, you would know the following: This body action I have done, does not lead to self-harm, does not lead to harm to others, does not lead to harm to both, then the personal karma. This is good, leads to happiness, brings happy retribution. Therefore, Rahula, your family must dwell in joy, cultivating by yourself day and night in good dharmas." For each action of the body, that is, body karma, whether it is still a will, or while doing it, or after it has been done, the Buddha advised Rahula as well as all of us Buddhists. should be alert to consider, is it good or bad, if it is good, then practice day and night to increase those good deeds. And if it is unwholesome, then try day and night to give up, eliminate, guard against, repent, repent, so that those unwholesome dhammas are never committed again. Not only for actions in the body, but also for words, for every thought that sprouts in our mind, the Buddha also advises us to reflect and consider whether it is good or bad. If it is wholesome, then learn to promote growth, if it is unwholesome, then strive tirelessly to eliminate and eliminate. And only after so many reflections on our deeds, words, and thoughts can we gradually come to a place where all our three karmas, bodily karma, verbal karma, and mental karma are gradually being clean and bright, completely in accordance with the religious lifestyle, the Buddhist way of life. We, gradually, strictly follow the Buddha's teachings, as recorded in the Dhammapada: "Do not do all evil, Accomplish good deeds, Keep the mind pure, It is the teachings of the Buddhas." Keeping the mind clean should be the constant and top concern of all of us Buddhists, monastic or layperson. Why? Ladies and gentlemen, this is because, normally, people think first, then speak, then act, we all have in mind the first verse of the Dhammapada: "Mind leads the Dharma, Mind dominates, mind creates, If with defiled mind, Speak or act, Suffering follows, Like a wheel of a drag" Meaning: If the mind is unwholesome, dirty, full of greed, hatred, and delusion, then speech and action with such a mind will also be unwholesome, dirty, full of greed, hatred, and delusion, and bring painful results. On the contrary, as the Dhammapada says: "If with pure mind, Speak or act, Bliss follows, Like a shadow that does not leave the image." The religious life, the Buddhist way of life, is a way of life with a pure mind. That is the way to live a happy life. A happiness that I created for myself, brought to myself, not anyone else, even my parents, relatives could not do it. That is the meaning of verse 43 in the Dhammapada: "What parents, relatives and relatives cannot do, Eight main directions can do, Do better!". The main direction of the mind is the good mind, the good mind, the pure mind. On the contrary, a person with an unwholesome mind is also the most unhappy person in the world, a misfortune that is even greater, more terrifying than the evil that beasts bring to him. The Dhammapada says: "A wrongful family harms an unjust family, Enemies harm an enemy, Not equal to an evil mind, Causing evil to oneself". Why does the Dhammapada say so? This is because the unwholesome mind is the enemy within, the enemy that harms insidiously, so it is also the most feared enemy. Someone asked the question: How to keep the mind always good and clean? How to keep the mind from thinking evil, thinking unwholesome? How not to be greedy for hatred and delusion, to be less greedy for anger and delusion, even though you still know that greed, hatred and delusion is wrong and suffering? It is a very legitimate question, the Buddha once said: "Trouble for mankind!" (Kandakara Sutra, Central Division II Sutra 51). Some people know that smoking is harmful but still smoke, know that drinking alcohol is harmful but still drink. That is the power of habit, a terrifying force. Just like a person walking forever in the morning dew, the shirt will always be soaked with dew. How many days do I have to dry my shirt to dry? The same goes for the human mind. The mind of a person thinking evil or thinking good also becomes a habit. If it has become a habit, especially a bad habit, it also takes time and effort to get rid of it. First of all, you have to create a good environment for yourself with good environments and good intellectuals, as the Buddha's book often says. In the Manchurian Minor Sutra (the Central Sutra No. 110), the Buddha clearly introduced us to the way of life of an unwholesome person. An unwholesome person is a person full of unwholesome qualities, such as no faith, no shame, no fear, little hearing, laziness, lack of mindfulness, and lack of wisdom. An inconvenient person thinks like an unrighteous person, thinking harms himself, thinking harms others, thinking harms both. An unwholesome person speaks like an unrighteous person: Lying, double-tongued, cruel talk, frivolous talk. An unwholesome person acts like an unrighteous person, killing living beings, taking what is not given, and engaging in sexual misconduct. So, Buddhists often come here to pay homage to the Buddha, listen to sutras, read the Fa books, talk about morality together, do Buddhist works and good deeds, that is to create for themselves a good environment to eliminate bad thoughts and arise. good thoughts, good thoughts. It is difficult for one person to do, or it is difficult for a beginner to do it. But if there is an organization, many people work together and do it many times, get used to it, then the hard work will be completed well. We have a good environment, we have good friends, we still have to work on ourselves. The Sutra of An Abode (Sutta 20, Central Sutra 1), teaches us how to make the right effort to cultivate good thoughts and eliminate bad thoughts. The Sutra says there are five measures in all: The first measure is to use good thoughts to drive away evil thoughts. For example, using the concept of compassion to drive away thoughts of anger, the Buddha used the example of a skillful carpenter who uses a good wedge (good thought) to knock another wedge (evil thought). -- The second measure: Is to reflect on the harmful consequences of bad thoughts that will lead to crime and punishment. Like a man who observes that he is wearing a dead dog's body around his neck, he is so afraid that he throws it away. Just like today, smokers think that smoking can cause themselves and their children (smoke smoke) to have cancer, get scared, and quit smoking. -- The third measure: is to try, forget about evil thoughts, don't think about it anymore. The Buddha took the example of a person who closes his eyes so as not to see something that can motivate him to do evil. -- The fourth measure: is to stop the flow of evil thoughts, to let it reduce its strength. The Buddha used the example of a person running, turning to walk, then standing, then sitting, then lying down. I can use the example of smoking to illustrate the Buddha's words. An addict, seeing a pack of cigarettes, immediately took it, drew a match, lit it, and took two or three breaths. Now, when you see a cigarette pack, don't take it, and when you have it, don't pull out a cigarette, don't light a match, or light a match, don't take a breath, etc.. Because, every time Stop like that, we can all reflect, remember the doctor's advice about how tobacco causes cancer, how much money is left by the wife's message, etc.. so, maybe stop smoking. -- The fifth measure: is to use the will and energy to control evil thoughts, prevent it from arising. The Buddha, for example, a strong person falls and a weak person falls. The above are five measures to control and eliminate evil thoughts, taught by the Buddha in the Sutra "An Abode". These are practical and concrete teachings that everyone can apply in their daily lives. One thing we need to keep in mind is that all thoughts are impermanent, whether good or bad, if they are not nourished by corresponding thoughts and especially by doing. I take the example of a smoker's concept of smoking. That smoking thought is nourished by thoughts such as smoking is harmless, smoking is more innovative, smoking one cigarette can shorten life by a few seconds, but laughing once can increase life by seven seconds, and so on. If we don't cultivate the concept of smoking with such thoughts, on the contrary, we oppose it, eliminate it with such thoughts as smoking causes cancer, smoking harms the lungs, smoking costs money, etc. then the thought of smoking may gradually no longer dominate us as before. And we can proceed to quit smoking without difficulty. One more thing, we also need to keep in mind that good thoughts are generally stronger than bad thoughts, just as light is stronger than darkness. Evil thoughts can dominate us because we do not know it is ac. If it is recognized as evil, it will naturally disappear. That is why the Buddhist scriptures advise us to always be mindful and alert, knowing clearly what we are thinking, saying, and doing, and whether that thought, word, or action is good or bad. peace or suffering for themselves and for others. There are people who think evil without knowing that they are evil. It is very difficult for such a person to practice abandoning evil and doing good. Just as there are people who do good without knowing that they are doing good, it is very difficult to develop good. The life of a Buddhist must be a sober life, knowing that good is good in order to promote the inherent good, learn the good things that you do not have. At the same time, we must also know that evil is evil to eliminate the evil we have committed and guard against evil that has not arisen. In short, increasing the inherent good, learning the good things that are not there, giving up the inherent evil, avoiding the evil that is not there: that must be the diligent lifestyle of all of us Buddhists. That is also the definition of the word "Right Effort", Sammà andyama, in the Eightfold Path that the Buddha advised all of us Buddhists to practice. "The noble disciple lives diligently, giving up unwholesome dhammas, accomplishing kusala dhammas, striving with perseverance and diligence, not relinquishing the burden of kusala dhammas." (Tang Chi II, page 18). Above, we said that using good old thoughts to chase evil thoughts. You may ask what kind of good thought it is? The Buddhist sutras often teach the practice of the "Eight Right Paths" by means of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, and eight methods to create a perfect human being. Eight methods of building a perfect Buddhist lifestyle, practical application in real life. A person of good will must, of course, be a person with right views, right thoughts, right language, right three karmas, right livelihood, right thoughts, and right meditation. chief. What a mistake it is for someone to accuse us of Buddhism as destroying all human emotions, as inhumane! On the contrary, it can be said that Buddhism is the most humane religion because it helps people strive to become perfect people, saints in this world, fully and completely self-assembled people. most beautiful virtues of compassion and wisdom. Humans have great wisdom and love (compassion): that must be the striving direction of all of us, because that is the model, of a perfect human being from the Buddhist point of view. It is a specific direction of striving, nothing is far-fetched, the Buddha and his many generations of enlightened disciples prove that the perfect human being is not a utopian structure that has been achieved. are, are, will be living, real people if they know how to strive for the path. The Eightfold Path that the Buddha outlined. The immortal value of Buddhism is that it outlines a specific path to help each of us become a perfect human being, a person who lives happily and freely, an exemplary human being of wisdom and love. wide. That is also the message that the Buddha left us: the message calling on all of us to strive to become perfect human beings, people liberated from the three poisons of greed, hatred and delusion, people with free mind and liberated wisdom, worthy of being the Buddha's disciples, the spiritual offspring of the Buddha. In this world full of hatred, let's live without hatred, let's set a shining example of a life full of love. In this world filled with darkness, the darkness of the threat of war, and the immoral way of life, let us light the lamp of wisdom, understanding and sympathy. Society does not look at us, judge us by Buddha books and Buddha statues, but look at us, judge us by our specific person, by our concrete actions and words, can appear to be loyal to or in contrast to the Buddhist ideas of compassion and wisdom. The Buddha too, he looked at us and judged us not by statues, pictures of Buddha, by whether Buddha's books recorded whether his words were true or not, but by the specific daily life of Buddhist monks and nuns we have. Is it really a religious life, a Buddhist life or not. If indeed, we live, behave, act according to the teachings of the Buddha, then even though the Buddha entered Nirvana three thousand years ago, he is always beside us, following the instructions. , encourage us.END=NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.10/6/2021.