The concept of self-reliance and forgiveness.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH. Self-help refers to one's own efforts to achieve a goal or something. For example, in studying, if we work hard, we can achieve good results in exams. Other forces are only for the impact of external factors on ourselves, and depending on the level of the impact, we ourselves are heavily or lightly affected. For example, if we are in a good educational environment, our knowledge, moral character, etc. will easily develop in a positive direction. In Buddhism, self-help and other-power are often mentioned. At first we think these are two completely opposite and unrelated concepts, but in fact they are closely related. Theravada Buddhism emphasizes the role of self-reliance In Theravada Buddhism, the spirit of self-reliance is expressed through the phrase "Light the torch on your own". This teaching is intended to encourage disciples to strive to practice, transform themselves, rely on the Dharma to achieve liberation: "So, Ᾱnanda, be yourself a lamp, rely on yourself. yourself, do not rely on anything else. Use the Dharma as a lamp, use the Dharma as a refuge, do not rely on anything else” (1) . This testament of the Buddha affirms the spirit of self-effort and self-enlightenment. The Buddha's disciples need to enlighten themselves by relying on the Dharma. Only by using the Dharma to practice can one gain insight, see the cause of suffering, which is due to karma:“Bhikkhus, living beings are the owners of karma, the heirs of karma, the birth roots of karma, relatives of karma, the refuge of karma. Whatever karma they do, good or bad, they are the heirs of that karma” (2) . Self-help and other-power in Mahayana Buddhism If Theravada Buddhism upholds the spirit of self-reliance, then at the stage of Mahayana Buddhism, there is an additional factor of other forces, which means that it must be supported by external forces to achieve liberation. Pure Land School (3) is a sect that emphasizes the spirit of others, ie relying on Amitabha Buddha's life-saving vow to be reborn in his country. In the Amitabha Sutra, the Buddha taught: “Sariputra! If any good man or good woman hears of Amitabha Buddha, and then holds the name of that Buddha, either for one day, or two days, or three days, or four days, or five days, or six days, or seven days, one heart without disturbance. When that person was about to die, Amitabha Buddha and the Holy Order appeared in front of him. At the time of death that person is not mentally disturbed, he will be reborn in Amitabha Buddha's Land of Ultimate Bliss" (4) . According to Pure Land Buddhism, a person, whether good or evil, good or bad, if he puts his absolute faith and wholeheartedly recites the name of Amitabha Buddha, he can be reborn in the world of Ultimate Bliss. In the Lotus Sutra, the Universal Gate, the other factor is also mentioned: “The Buddha told him Bodhisatta Endless Intent. Good man! If there are immeasurable hundreds of thousands of billions of sentient beings suffering from sufferings, listen to this Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with one heart and say his name. Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara immediately looked at that reputation, and they were all liberated” (5) . Likewise, other Mahayana sutras such as the Medicine Sutra (Twelve Vows of the Medicine Buddha Lulu Light King), the Ksitigarbha Sutra (King Tsitigarbha Bodhisattva's Prayer to Save Hell's Suffering), The Universal Virtue Sutra (The Ten Actions of Universal Virtue Bodhisattva) etc. also mentions the other factor. Reconciling self-help and other-power factors In terms of the practice of liberation, Theravada Buddhism emphasizes the element of self-reliance, while Mahayana Buddhism adds an element of other power. However, to assume that Theravada Buddhism relies solely on self-reliance to attain liberation and Mahayana Buddhism relies heavily on other powers, this may not be correct. We know that, without a Guru to teach us, we cannot have the right method of practice. And relying on the teachings of the Buddha can be seen as a form of relying on other powers. Of course, here relying on the Buddha's teachings is only a means, and achieving liberation or not is up to each person's practice. In the same way, it is also wrong to view the attainment of liberation in the Pure Land school as relying solely on other powers. In the Amitabha Sutra, it is said that, if any sentient being has a good heart, hears his name, and wholeheartedly upholds his name from one day to seven days, when his life is over, Amitabha Buddha will take him back to the world. the realm of Ultimate Bliss. Here we see that in order to be reborn in the world of Ultimate Bliss, one needs both self-help and other factors. The Buddha's vow to save all sentient beings is the other's power, but in order to be born in the Pure Land, those sentient beings must first have sufficient wholesome roots (6) and wholeheartedly recite the Buddha's name until "one-pointedly no matter what." chaos". This spirit is also expressed in the great compassion to save suffering of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. If innumerable sentient beings suffering from hundreds of sufferings heard the name of Avalokiteshvara and recited it wholeheartedly, he would observe that sound and immediately come to save suffering and make them peaceful and liberated. Other power is the Bodhisattva's great vow, while self-reliance is the "one-pointedness of name" of sentient beings, that is, other power only arises when there is a self-help factor. Within Mahayana Buddhism, there are several schools that emphasize self-reliance, such as Zen Buddhism. In this respect, Zen Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism are quite similar, that is, they do not rely on external factors but rely on one's own cultivation efforts to be realized. If the Buddha is the Master who finds the way to liberation and self-enlightenment for himself: "The Tathagata, the Unsurpassed, the Perfectly Enlightened One has never heard of the Dharma, but is able to realize the Dharma by himself, and self-communicate the Unsurpassed Bodhi. - the subject, and then to enlighten the shravakas in the future life to teach the Dharma” (7) , the rest of us all have to rely on other factors in the path of practice, like having to rely on the Buddhadharma. , to the ancestor, friends, etc.. These are also known as factors that help conditions. Our practice as well as our daily life are not outside the law of cause and effect, they all influence and influence each other. Therefore, it is not enough to practice self-effort, sometimes it is not enough, but it also needs to be supported by causes and conditions to achieve the goal. Thus, self-reliance and other-power, although two different concepts, are not in opposition to each other, and these two factors are indispensable in the practice of a Buddha. Even though we put a lot of emphasis on the element of self-effort, in the step of practice we are not completely free from other forces. And if you only rely on other forces but do not practice, that is superstition, wrong view, not in accordance with the spirit of Buddhism.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.26/11/2021.