The concept of liberation and liberation from birth and death in Buddhism.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH. In Buddhist teachings, there are often words that go together to indicate the situation that develops and then is the result of cultivation on the path of enlightenment - liberation such as: liberation of precepts, liberation of karma, liberation of knowledge. view, free from demonic obstacles, liberate samsara from suffering, and finally liberate samsara. In terms of form as well as content of the term religion is generally difficult to understand. In it, there is a term Buddhist doctrine that contains many deep meanings, so it is very difficult for beginners (the first step to approach Buddhist teachings. And in fact, we almost see many sentences in this book. Buddhist teachings are very profound, so many people only understand the literal meaning (ie, the outer shell) of the language but do not understand its essence.Of course, in recent decades, popular Buddhist books have also been published. As the Buddhist scriptures are quite complete, the study of Buddhism has many advantages compared to the first decades of the last century.Along with the publication of the scriptures, there are lectures. The very useful method of the masters has explained quite fully the semantics of difficult words in the teachings, With the concept of the phrase liberation and liberation from birth and death, this is a common phrase in Buddhist teachings with a high frequency of use, and almost every Buddhist student often remembers in the process of practicing enlightenment. enlightenment enlightenment. However, liberation from where to go and liberation from what is the crucial issue. In fact, in Buddhism, the two words liberation are mentioned in many different cases, situations and contexts on the path to enlightenment and liberation. But the concept of liberation from birth and death is often used to talk about the ultimate goal of Buddhist practitioners. In this small article, let's learn more about the concept of this phrase in Buddhist teachings. The concept of liberation from birth and death is often used to talk about the ultimate goal of Buddhist practitioners. What is liberation from birth and death? First of all, the concept of liberation needs to be explained. According to the Vietnamese Mandarin dictionary explains: 1/ Rescue from bondage. 2/ (Buddha) rescue from the sea of ​​suffering. As for the Buddhist dictionary, the explanation is more scholarly: Liberation is the release of the bondage of afflictions and escape from the world of confusion and suffering; is to be free from bondage in the three realms. For those who are new to Buddhism, it can be understood as an end to the cause of birth, death, and karma; is not being bound by attachments to the mind; is to achieve liberation beyond the bondage of the mundane world, from the domination of desires (living in complete freedom); is to be free from illusion and suffering, to be free from rebirth in samsara, and to attain Nirvana. To help us understand this concept, Doan Trung's dictionary of Buddhism explains further: Liberation: sound according to Sanskrit is Moc De, Moksha (Moksha). Solution: is to leave the bondage, to be free, to open the bonds of Wrong Karma (ie or karma). Exit: is to go out of the three worlds of suffering, ie the 3 worlds (Sex, Form, and Formless). Liberation is the opposite of the end, the system of fortune. 1/ Liberation is Nirvana. 2/ Liberation is also called Meditation as the Three Liberation, the Eight Liberation, and the Independent Thought of Liberation. Because thanks to the virtue of meditation, you can get out of bondage and become free. Liberation is Nirvana, it is Nirvana, for leaving all bondage. As the liberation from the five aggregates from the liberated form to the liberated consciousness, it is called the fifth year of Nirvana (five races of Nirvana). Liberation is one of the five parts of the Dharmakaya. Buddhism also calls it liberation; Buddhist ethics is also called liberation; The kashāya robe is also called liberating, liberating, stripping, because all have liberating character. Salvation is of two things: 1/ The nature of liberation: the nature of sentient beings is inherently pure, without the appearance of a system of defilements or pollution. 2/ Obstruction to liberation: Although the nature of sentient beings is pure, since beginningless time they have been deceived by afflictions, unable to manifest their own nature, so now they have cut off that obstacle. but be liberated. Liberation has two scenes: about things and reasons. About the , ie freed from the cycle of suffering, accidents are binding the body. As liberated from the three paths: Hell, Preta, Animal; deliverance from the law, from prison, from water disasters, fires, robberies, wild animals... Logically, ie freed from all afflictions, the ties of attachment that once bound the mind. Such as being liberated from the cycle of reincarnation and attaining the Holy fruit: Arhat, Pratyekabuddha, Bodhisattva, Buddha. Theoretically, there are two ways of liberation: a/ Good mind is liberated: skillful mind is free from bondage (greed, hatred, delusion) b/ Good wisdom liberates: wisdom is skillfully liberated, unobstructed by any dharma, knowing all. Those are the two liberations of the Bodhisattva. Nirvana Sutra: The Buddha himself was liberated, and he preached the dharma of liberation to sentient beings, so he was called the Supreme Master. stage 2 Liberation from birth and death by karma The concept of liberation in Buddhism is very broad, this is the ultimate goal of Buddhist teachings. In order for us to gradually grasp the levels of liberation, in the teachings the Buddha taught as well as the patriarchs often gave specific examples. According to HT Thich Thien Sieu, liberation includes: liberation from circumstances, liberation of the mind and complete liberation . Liberating the situation includes improving the material situation for the best and not paying attention to the external circumstances so as not to be bound. Freeing the mind means freeing all the afflictions that make people suffer. Complete liberation is no longer being limited by time and space, no longer being dominated by mediocre psychology and physiology. Wisdom clearly sees non-dual things, so there is no attachment to the world and no need to find a way out of the three realms. Thus, liberation is the mind that is not bound by circumstances, afflictions, and even the notion of tribulation, birth and death, and Nirvana. Referring to liberation, according to the Sub-sutta, the Majjhima Nikaya, which belongs to the Majjhima Nikaya, a person is called enlightened and liberated when he or she "lives contemplating impermanence, lives contemplating separation from greed, lives contemplating cessation, living contemplating renunciation in feelings, not being attached to anything in the world, not defilements, he realizes Nirvana. He knows well that: "Birth is over, the holy life has been accomplished, what needs to be done has been done, there is no coming back to this life." Liberation, according to the scriptures, is separation of greed, non-attachment, and Nirvana. Then, liberation is also understood as Nirvana, which is also synonymous with no-self. Nirvana means extinguishing all the afflictions and desires that make people insecure and miserable. No-self is no longer clinging to the self, giving birth to greed, hatred, and delusion... Nirvana can be touched and experienced right now, not until after death. Therefore, liberation is the transformation of afflictions, leaving the ego, seeing clearly the reality of all things, so the mind is free. Based on the meaning of the concept of liberation from birth and death is the concretization of this concept. In other words, the concept of liberation from birth and death emphasizes that the purpose of the practice is to end craving, end the path of birth and death according to good and bad karma. In chapter One, when the Buddha preached (Like speech) belongs to the Minor (Khuddaka Nikaya). The Buddha taught that there is a dharma that leads to no more rebirth. That is, give up craving, give up anger, give up delusion, give up anger, give up slander, give up pride. To give up unwholesome dharmas is to give up the karma that leads to birth and death, so there is no more rebirth. Here also it is necessary to understand rebirth as karmic rebirth. The Buddha taught that there is a dharma that leads to no more rebirth. That is, give up craving, give up anger, give up delusion, give up anger, give up slander, give up pride. To give up unwholesome dharmas is to give up the karma that leads to birth and death, so there is no more rebirth The Buddha taught that there is a dharma that leads to no more rebirth. That is, give up craving, give up anger, give up delusion, give up anger, give up slander, give up pride. To give up unwholesome dharmas is to give up the karma that leads to birth and death, so there is no more rebirth With the practice of Purification and Meditation, the Tathagata also teaches cultivators to be liberated to return to the Buddha Realm as follows: "If one wants to be liberated from the Three Realms, one must be enlightened (that is, clear understanding from people and things). , the earth, the three worlds, the Buddha world and the law of reincarnation - cause and effect. At the same time, you must understand: What is Buddha nature made of? What is human nature? Where do you go? Liberation here is understood as knowing the way out of the law of cause and effect - reincarnation of the three worlds and this earth to return to the Pure Buddha World. Wanting to be liberated means not being attached to anything on this earth. The Buddha called the non-abiding with the material things. Being non-existent here is not (abandoning) that humans living on this earth must obey the physical laws of the earth. But always be aware of the "brave mind" with the spirit of meditation incarnation. That is: let go, stop, stop, stop! According to the method of Tathagata pure meditation. From the above explanations of the concept of liberation, it can be drawn that a common feature of liberation is the absence of suffering and pain and the attainment of Nirvana. Mention of suffering and the cessation of suffering or the attainment of Nirvana. The Sutra of turning the wheel of law belongs to the Samyutta Nikaya, which states: "Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, sorrow, compassion, suffering, grief, and pain are suffering; resentful meeting is suffering; Separation is suffering; not asking is suffering. In short, the five aggregates of clinging are suffering. The end of suffering is the separation of greed, the cessation of craving...is abandonment, abandonment, liberation..! According to the definition of the Small Business, the end of love, liberation is Nirvana, is the attainment of Arahantship and for that, his birth has ended…no more coming back to this life. It can be easily said that the Arahants no longer create good and bad karma, so they have ended the mind of greed, hatred, and delusion... . Freedom from birth and death according to wishes Is it possible that liberation from birth and death is no longer birth and death as we have just learned above. And liberation from birth and death is the liberation of karma that leads to samsara and suffering in the six realms. Here, it is necessary to distinguish samsara from suffering and birth and death as a rule (manifesting according to conditions). For the sage, although the body is subject to birth and death as a law of physical (worldly) dependent origination, the mind is always free from the influence of karma. The case of birth and death later is synonymous with Nirvana with residual residual that is the Arahant saints or the embodiment of the birth of Bodhisattvas. Here, according to the law of existence, there is birth. There is birth and there is death. But the difference here is the birth and death of the Bodhisattvas according to vows and not according to karma. Always be aware of the "meditation mind" with the spirit of meditative entry. That is: let go, stop, stop, stop! According to the method of Tathagata pure meditation. The birth and death according to the Vow can be mentioned as the appearance of Buddha Shakyamuni, of Bodhisattva Maitreya and Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara... In the Minor Sutras, there are many stories of the Buddha's predecessors recorded. write out. The characters in the forerunner stories are believed to be manifesting Bodhisattvas. Being a Bodhisattva is of course liberated from birth and death. Reading the history of the Buddha, we see that Prince Siddhartha's birth, practice, Buddhahood, and death is a case of birth and death (belonging to the body) that occurs after being liberated from birth and death. many past lives. Regarding Maitreya Bodhisattva, both the Southern tradition and the Northern tradition believe that the Bodhisattva appeared in the Tusita heaven and will be reborn in the future in the Saha realm to continue to practice and realize Buddhahood and inherit the virtues. Buddha Shakyamuni. As for the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, the Sutra of Great Compassionate Mind Dharani states that he has become a Buddha with the title of True Dharma, but because of his great compassion, he embodies Avalokitesvara to save sentient beings. When a bodhisattva or saint manifests, birth appears. Of course, that manifest body will have to die (death) according to the law of dependent origination. Only pure body and mind, not born and destroyed according to the world, and always free. Mahayana Buddhism advocates the doctrine of birth in this form. From there, it can be explained that the Buddha or the Saints follow their vows depending on birth and death to save sentient beings, but the mind is always free and free from suffering. There is birth, there is death Regarding the matter of birth and death, we need to distinguish and understand two parts: One is the mind arising and passing away. The second is birth and death. According to Zen Master Thanh Tu, the mind of birth and death is the mind of hope. And the true mind is pure and eternal as the vision of the eye is always eternal, whether eyes are closed or eyes are open. The body of the four great elements of birth and death can be understood by anyone because it belongs to the principle (physics). In the Udana of the First Subsutta, the Buddha taught about dependent origination: "Because this exists, that exists, because this does not exist, that does not exist, because of this. The birth causes the other to arise, because of the cessation of the other, the other ceases. When the body of the four elements has arisen, it must pass away, according to the doctrine of dependent origination. According to the history of Shakyamuni Buddha, he attained Nirvana into a Buddha after 49 days and nights of meditation. Since that time, the Buddha's mind has always been pure and no longer arises and dies like the false mind of sentient beings. However, the Buddha's four-element body is still governed by the principle of birth and death. Broadly speaking, we see, when there is life existing with the body (four elements), there is inevitable birth and death. That is the law of nature, the reason for dependent origination. Therefore, liberation from birth and death does not mean that it is completely absent in this world or in other worlds. According to theocratic religions and folk beliefs, the concept of liberation from birth and death seems to be rarely mentioned, because human rights are not recognized with equal thinking and respect. including this (physical) body, as well as the (conscious) spirit after death.From this fact, theocratic beliefs in general when it comes to matters of life and death, they are often worried, bewildered and just based on the arranged theory of 'limited concentration' (ie there is no change in the process of liberation from birth and death) Because of this, the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination gave mankind a new perspective. , helping people to be more confident and open when looking at the issue of birth and death (that is, liberation) from an unclean and miserable life in the Three Paths - to have a better rebirth. To end this article, the writer would like to borrow the comments of author Thich Hanh Chon in the article " Thinking about the concept of liberation from birth and death in Buddhism " to replace the opening conclusion of this article. Friends and readers ponder together: " Buddhism aims at liberation from birth and death, attaining Nirvana in order to live freely in life and benefit all beings. The concept of liberation from birth and death, Nirvana in a certain world and achieved only after death is a concept that needs to be reevaluated. Because to say so is to deny the life and great value of the contributions of Buddha and Bodhisattva. At the same time, with that concept also makes Buddhism metaphysical and alienated from existing life ” (ie lack of inherent commitment of Buddhism). Therefore, the right understanding of the concept to understand and practice correctly is a very necessary process for anyone who practices the Buddhadharma. Especially in the current period of Buddhist integration and development.END=NAMO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.14/6/2021.