The Intellectual and Human Nature of Buddhism When discussing Buddhism, scholar Luong Khai Sieu said: "Buddhism is knowledge, not superstition. must be cynical”. Luong Khai Sieu was an ancient scholar who studied both ancient China and the West, holding a respectable position in the scholarly world. His words must have a doctrinal basis. Then what is that base? Of course, in the Tripitaka of Buddhism. Because the purpose of the Buddhadharma is to ask people to turn delusion into enlightenment, turn stupidity into wisdom, and turn ordinary people into saints and nothing else. Buddhism is superstition, not superstition Before mentioning the wisdom of Buddhism, let's think we should find out why superstition is born, and how superstition is born? In the past, because people's wisdom had not yet developed, for natural phenomena in the universe such as natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, etc.. it is said that there must be a supreme god full of power to control. Like life and death prematurely, human misfortunes and disasters, nothing is not determined by the gods. Those gods, if they respect the island, then they will be blessed; If you offend against it, it will bring disaster. People in the world want to spend more blessings, but use sacrifices to the gods, hoping that the gods will be happy. People who love money ask the gods to give them lots of wealth; Those who are greedy for fame should pray for the protection of the gods to be promoted once for 3 levels. These people do not sow good deeds but expect good results. Even if gods are sacred, they can't depend on their ambitions to pray for them. Know that everything in the universe, each thing has its own cause and effect, As the Buddha said: "As you sow, you will reap". In order for production to increase, farming efforts must be made. To stay healthy, you need to exercise diligently. If you want to be promoted, you must sow the cause of honesty and hard work, but you can't pray to the gods to achieve the goal. We often see an intelligent and righteous person who can't even pretend to be friendly towards the flatterer, so maybe the gods are greedy for gifts and upset the right and wrong of people? Just because we don't understand cause and effect, wish for vain, without cause but want results, is really wrong. Buddhism is not like that. The supreme object that Buddhists worship is the Buddha. Buddha means the enlightened one, self-enlightened, and fully enlightened called Buddha. The Buddha's successor is a Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva means Enlightened Being, that is, an enlightened being. The upper bodhisattva seeks to attain supreme enlightenment, and the lower bodhisattva saves all sentient beings. The bodhisattva who practices perfect merit is also a Buddha. The Buddha is worshiped in Buddhist families, or in monasteries in our country, or as the Supreme Patriarch Shakyamuni; or Amitabha Buddha, the leader of the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. Bodhisattvas are respected such as: Bodhisattva Manjushri, Bodhisattva Universal Worthy, Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, Bodhisattva Great World Chi, Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, Bodhisattva Maitreya, etc. Bodhisattva Manjushri represents Wisdom, Universal Virtue represents Happiness, Guanyin represents Compassion, The Chi represents Strength, Ksitigarbha represents Mind, and Maitreya represents Joy and Equanimity. The virtues of compassion, equanimity, wisdom, strength, etc.. all of us have, but because of the delusions of delusion and confusion, they cannot manifest. Now, We worship them in order to imitate them and promote our own inherent qualities. Through many elaborate refinements, we will gradually become perfect humans like the Bodhisattvas. More than 2,000 years ago, when the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, his first words were: "Wonderful! Strangely! All sentient beings are full of the Tathagata's wisdom and virtues, only because of their delusions, they cannot realize it. If they give up their delusions and attachments, then the omniscience and natural wisdom will be revealed." . What then is the Tathagata's intellectual virtue? That is the Buddha nature. This Buddha-nature is possessed by everyone. It does not increase in the saints, and it does not decrease in the ordinary people. If one can abandon the delusion of self-grasping, then the sun of wisdom will naturally shine. Just like dust on a mirror, If you try to clean all that dust, the pristine light of the mirror will naturally be restored. Therefore, after enlightenment, the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng exclaimed: "I never thought that my nature was pure by itself. Doubt that his own capital is not born and destroyed. No wonder the self-sufficient capital. No wonder his capital does not fluctuate. I would have thought that I was born with all kinds of dharmas". This is all thanks to self-reliance in spiritual practice that leads to enlightenment, compared to praying for other powers of other religions such as saying: "Whoever believes in the supreme will be saved", completely different. Buddhism is a religion that believes in self-reliance, not believing that the universe is created and governed by a supreme god. With regard to the phenomena of birth, death, and change in the universe, the Buddha often said: “This is there, that is there; this one doesn't, the other doesn't; this is born, the other is born; When this is destroyed, the other is destroyed." Or say: "Dharma ear like market". That is to say, these phenomena have always been like that. That is the Law of Cause and Effect of the universe. All dharmas are caused by causes and conditions, and they are also destroyed by causes and conditions. The stars move, the weather changes, all obey the law of its cause and effect. All birth, old age, sickness, death, and short life of a person are governed by the law of cause and effect. Any cause is the same result, not even a little bit different. Therefore, natural phenomena are definitely not determined by the gods, and the meeting between one person and the other and the development of feelings or hatred, nor is it arranged by any supreme god. . The ancients said: "Blessings have no definite basis, they are only acquired by people". (painless sect, only self-million). Therefore, I am my lord, there is no god who can be the lord of man, There is no god to bless or harm anyone. But in fact, there are still some people who believe and make sacrifices to the gods. In their hearts, there are both demons and gods, and the concept of cause and effect. It is not right to pray to gods for blessings, but if they meet good and knowledgeable people who show the main path, they can easily return to the right way, and therefore, there are still many opportunities for success. salvage. On the contrary, the most pitiful are those who have never had the concept of ghosts and gods on the basis of thought, and do not believe in the law of cause and effect. Because they do not abstain from fear of ghosts and spirits, do not believe in the law of cause and effect, so they think that they are wrong, arrogant, conceited, and lethargic without thinking about the consequences. They are willing to change white for black, reverse right and left, cause a lot of bad karma, I thought I could enjoy happiness forever. But the law of cause and effect is fair and impartial, borrowing must be repaid, whoever sows the wind reaps the storm. It is impossible to escape, as the Dhammapada says: Evil karma is not ripe. Fools think of honey. nine true Fools suffer. Buddhism is closely related to the country where Buddhism has worldly dharmas and worldly dharmas, using worldly dharmas as a means and worldly dharmas as the end. Out of the world here means going beyond all temptations and errors, not out of the world. The bodhisattvas, for the sake of saving people to their destination, should enter the world to save sentient beings. So, in the end, the Buddhadharma is only in the world, not outside. Those who misunderstand Buddhism say that Buddhists have the spirit of the world, little contribution to the nation's society. This argument seems to be true at first, but it is actually very wrong. Buddhism has four groups of disciples, ordained disciples have Bhikkhu-stilts, Bhikkhu-stilts-ni; The lay disciples have the Upasakas, which are male lay people, and the Upsiders who are female lay people. Among the lay disciples, there are people who work in occupations such as industrial, agricultural, commercial, military, medical, educational, etc., who have never abandoned their livelihood work because of religious service. As for them ordained, indeed they do not directly produce. But in society, except for farmers plowing the fields, workers working in factories are those who directly produce, there are many other occupations such as civil servants, teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc.. are not directly plowing fields, weaving cloth, but only those who are monastic disciples of the Buddha? However, Who dares to say that these people do not make positive contributions to the nation's society? In the same way, those who left home, not all day just sitting idle, but in fact, on their shoulders the burden of the responsibility of propagating the Buddhadharma and teaching sentient beings. Law and public opinion can, of course, punish crimes that have been committed, but it is the moral conversion of Religion that truly prevents crimes that have not yet occurred. The Vietnamese nation from Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran to Le, Nguyen, the rise and fall of Buddhism, and the country's riots are closely related. During the times when Buddhism was prevalent, social order was largely stabilized; and when the social order was stable, Buddhism was mostly in vogue. It can be said that it is a reciprocal causal relationship that has been seen in the history of the country. The Buddha once taught his disciples to be loyal to the country, to be filial to their parents, to be kind to their children, and to be faithful to their friends. Must keep the five precepts, practice the ten virtues, practice the Six Virtues, everywhere reminding Buddhists to first be a good citizen, preserve public property, respect the law, take another step forward to practice the Dharma. emancipation. The Buddha also taught us to repay the four favors of parents, teachers, country, and donors. Thus, Buddhism advises people to live with gratitude, to keep filial piety, which is obviously the moral basis for building a healthy society. The Five Normals of Confucianism teach people Nhan, Nghia, Le, Tri, and Faith; consider them as moral principles to be human. If you compare the five precepts of Buddhism, don't kill indiscriminately, close to the cause; do not take from others, close to the meaning; not fornication, close to the ceremony; do not lie, close to credit; do not drink alcohol, close to wisdom. Although at one time some naive people viewed the moral principles of Confucianism as obsolete products that should be discarded. But, if you consider calmly, at present, these moral principles still have practical value to build a hierarchical society that is orderly and stable in many aspects. Experience shows us that when the material is destroyed, it is relatively easy to repair or rebuild, but when the spirit is damaged, wanting to save it is extremely difficult. In addition, socially, the moral foundations of Confucianism and Buddhism are also related. Confucius once said: "A record is not lustful, an object is good" (What you don't want, don't do to others). And in the Sutra of the Four Indestructible Accomplishments, the Buddha said: "If someone kills me, I am not happy; I wasn't happy, so were others, why did I kill them? Understanding like this, immediately keep the precept not to kill. If someone steals my property, I'm not happy; If we are not happy, so are others, why should we steal their property? Understanding this, immediately keep the precept not to steal. I was not happy when others trespassed on my wife and children; Other people are also not happy to see their wives and children being violated, why do we violate their wives and children? Therefore, we keep the precept not to commit adultery. I don't want to be deceived by anyone; Other people also don't like to be deceived, why should we deceive them? Therefore, we must keep the precept not to lie.” This passage almost explains in detail the saying "What you don't want, don't do to others". Are these not very practical principles of life to build an ideal society? That is enough to see that the legacies of our ancestors play an important role in the social foundation so that our nation has a gentle and benevolent lifestyle, knowing how to love and respect each other. Of course, and it has been around for a long time, so in the legacies left by our ancestors, there are things that have become obsolete, need to be discarded, and then collect the quintessence of the world to build on. cultural traditions of the nation, thus achieving perfect results. But if we think that traditional cultures are too old, no longer suitable for contemporary society, it is necessary to throw everything away, in order to replace it with a completely new culture that makes people they feel confused, unable to accept, it is difficult to avoid the risk of leading to loss of trust, causing the society to fall into crisis. The spirit of entering the world of Buddhism Buddhists have taken compassion as the basis and patience as the motto. For the sake of beauty and nourishment, the five senses of the six worlds are mostly shunned, unlike the common notion that life is a battle field, just hoping to achieve as much victory as possible. Therefore, causing some people to call themselves positive and progressive, they hastily labeled Buddhism as negative and out of the world, not suitable for today's bustling competitive society. But, is Buddhism really negative? No! Anyone who understands more or less about Buddhism knows that Buddhism has a positive incarnation spirit. This is very clearly shown in the vows of Venerable Ananda that the monks of the monasteries often read and recite every morning as a motto of action: "The five stagnations of evil enter the first generation. Born to become a Buddha, Nhung did not try to challenge Nehuan." That is: In the five-decade life, I would like to enter first. As for a being who has not yet become a Buddha, I will not enter Nirvana." However, someone will ask, "If just reading and chanting like this can be called a positive action?" Please, the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism is to save all sentient beings, in order to save lives, you must first learn the method of salvation. If someone falls into the water, suppose you have the compassion to save them, but because you can't swim, you can only stand on the shore and call for help. On the contrary, if you both have the heart to save people, and know how to swim, immediately plunge into the water, would have saved the other person from drowning. Disciples of the Buddha, whether ordained or layman, when chanting and reciting the Buddha's name, make a great vow to practice the method of saving people to maturity. Here, we do not use these arguments to defend monks and nuns, Buddhists, but the basic spiritual truth of Buddhism. Shakyamuni Buddha once said: “If I don't go to hell, who will go to hell; not only enter hell, but also dignify hell.” and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva also said: "The sentient beings are saved to the end of the world to attain Bodhi. In hell, those who do not swear to become Buddhas will not become Buddhas." ). It is all a manifestation of the altruistic spirit of Buddhism sacrificing oneself to serve sentient beings. During the Tang Dynasty, Master Huyen Trang, for the sake of the Dharma, went to Thien Truc to ask for sutras. through 800 miles of desolate desert, running out of water in the middle of the road, many times about to die. But he still vowed to rather take a step forward to the West and die, than take a step back to the East to live if he has not achieved his goal. That wish represents the spirit of self-forgetfulness for the sake of the Dharma, hoping that all sentient beings will enjoy the dharma taste of liberation, not seeking benefits for themselves. Because, the existence and development of Buddhism always accompanies the existence and development of humanity. If Buddhism separates people, alienates society, Buddhism has no reason to exist anymore. That was confirmed by the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng: "Buddhist Dharma in the world, no separation from the world; A cup of the Bodhi mind is like a prayer for enlightenment." Translation: Buddha Dharma in the world, not leaving the world enlightenment; Leaving the world to seek Bodhi, it is different from looking for the horns of a rabbit. Summary, Through the above presentations, we see that there is a most notable highlight that is the five precepts of Buddhism that are valuable beyond space and time. Because wherever and at any time, these five precepts are also basic moral principles for being human, in order to build an orderly and stable society so that everyone can live happily. Buddhism believes that everything in the universe operates according to the law of cause and effect. Humans are the same, whoever sows good causes will receive good results, whoever causes bad karma will bear bad results, absolutely not by chance or by any god. Buddhism takes living beings as an object to serve, puts its existence in close correlation with the existence and evolution of human society. Buddhism believes that everyone has the ability to go up, if long-term efforts will eventually reach the goal, good, beautiful, or completely liberated enlightenment. In order to guide his disciples to practice to achieve the best effect, the Buddha flexibly applied his wisdom presented with examples that were both realistic, vivid, attractive and full of possibilities. Here, the author would like to introduce some examples so that readers who are eager to learn the profound teachings and skillful methods of the Master can easily refer to and apply them. Purify the mind as goldsmiths filter gold The Buddha taught: Hey, monks, there are impurities mixed in gold such as dust, sand, stones, grit; the gold refiner poured the gold into the trough, then poured the water in, tossed it back and forth, washed it again and again. Having done so, then the gold remains with smaller impurities, such as fine sand and gravel, and then the gold refiner washes it again and again. Now, gold still has some fine sand and black dust, Then the gold refiner washes the last time to completely remove all impurities, leaving only mineral gold. Then the goldsmith put the gold bar in the furnace, indented the bellows, indented many times until the gold began to flow, but not from the mouth of the furnace. Then he continues to indent, but the gold has not yet reached the essence, he continues to indent until the gold becomes smooth, bright, unbroken, flexible and easy to use. use. Now, if you want to make a gold bracelet, earring, bracelet or ring, the jeweler can use that gold bar to create the makeup he wants. In the same way, bhikkhus, when cultivating the higher mind, if gross fetters such as bad bodily actions, bad speech actions, and evil mental formations persist, a bhikkhu should endeavor to think, seek to eliminate them, cleansed, terminated, not allowed to arise again. When done so, Male monks continue to practice increasing the upper mind; If the intermediate fetters such as sensuality, hatred, and harm still exist, more effort must be made to eliminate them, stop them, and not allow them to arise again. When this is done, a bhikkhu resumes his cultivation of the higher mind, and if he finds that subtle fetters such as the idea of ​​family, country, and honor still exist, he must continue his efforts to eliminate them. them, do not allow them to arise. When the mind is flexible and easy to use, if you want to achieve the magical powers, such as the supernatural powers, the heavenly ears, etc.. The bhikkhus have the ability to achieve those magical powers. Practice like horse training Venerable Bhaddali lacks the energy to control himself, often being dictated by desires. In order to teach the false religion about the method of inner tame, the Buddha presented how to train the horse: Hey Bhaddali, For example, a skilled horse trainer, when receiving a good and gentle horse, must first train that horse to get used to the reins. While training, if it struggles, jumps, jumps, resists, because it has not been trained before, the trainer continues to practice, gradually the horse will get used to the reins. Then, the trainer trained the horse to get used to the saddle. When training, the horse will struggle and resist, but the trainer perseveres in training, gradually the horse will get used to the saddle. Now, the trainer again trains the horse to march, go around, walk on hooves, gallop, gallop, neigh, etc. Once the horse has mastered the above movements. , the trainer trained the horse again to familiarize himself with jewelry such as rattles, garlands, pearls etc.. Hey Bhaddali, When the horse has been trained well in the above things, it becomes a horse, a horse, a treasure of the king. In the same way, Bhaddali, a bhikkhu who has attained the supreme qualities will become worthy of respect, honorable, worthy of homage and offerings, an unsurpassed field of merit in the world. When, Bhaddali, a bhikkhu attains Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Understanding, and Right Liberation, he will become an honorable and worthy being. honorable, worthy of worship and offerings, is the unsurpassed field of merit in life. Practice the correct method like tuning a lute Once the Buddha was staying at Linh Thuu mountain, near Vuong Xa citadel, while Venerable Sona was in the Sita forest not far from Vuong Xa. Because of the lack of mindfulness to be dominated by afflictions, Sona wanted to return to the worldly life, doing meritorious deeds, enjoy happiness like a normal person. With the knowledge of others, the World-Honored One knew the disciple's thoughts. He immediately used his divine power to go to Sona and ask him about his thoughts. Sona admitted that she had the same thought. Buddha immediately asked the teacher about the method of playing the lute - which is Sona's forte - to encourage the venerable to continue to be diligent: Hey, Sona, what do you think, when the strings of the lute are too tense to pronounce correctly? tone? No, venerable sir. When the strings are too slack, does the sound soften? No, venerable sir. So when you turn the strings, do not stretch, do not falter, just right on average, is the sound smooth? Yes, sir, World-Honored One. In the same way, Sona, when the mind is too tense, vibrations arise; When the mind is too passive, it leads to laziness. Therefore, you need to exercise a balanced mind, not too tense, It is also not too passive that the practice will make progress. Yes, sir, venerable sir. After obeying the Buddha's instructions, Venerable Sona lived alone, peacefully, without distraction, making efforts in a balanced manner, thereby achieving the goal expected by the monastics of good family: unsurpassed. the end of the holy life, and dwell in the present. One day, in the morning, the Blessed One put on his robe, took his bowl, and went for alms through the brahmin Bharadvaja's farm. Seeing the Blessed One, the brahmin said, "Sammon, I am plowing and sowing rice. After plowing and sowing the rice, I use the harvested produce. So, does the recluse plow and sow the rice, and, after plowing and sowing the rice, use the harvested produce? Hey Brahmin, I also plow and sow rice; After plowing and sowing rice, I use the harvested product. But I did not see a yoke, a plow, a plowshare, Gotama's whip and oxen even though he said: "I also plow and sow rice, and after plowing and sowing rice, I use the harvested product?" Then the Blessed One replied in verse to the brahmin: Faith is the seed, Asceticism is the rain of wisdom to me, The plow and evil Evil is the plow, the mind-base is the rope. Mindfulness is the plowshare. Body and speech are protected. I spit on evil. Realize true liberation. ... Thus plow this field, Bringing immortal fruit. Protecting the senses like turtles are afraid of wolves, the Blessed One said to the monks: One day, in the evening, a tortoise and a wolf went in search of prey. The tortoise, seeing the wolf from afar, immediately retracted its four legs and neck into the shell, lying silently, motionless. From a distance, the wolf saw the turtle, immediately approached, thinking: "When this turtle pokes out any part, I will grab it, break it, and then eat it." However, the tortoise didn't stick out any part; The wolf couldn't find the opportunity, so he got bored and left. In the same way, bhikkhus, the devil is constantly in a position to stalk you with the thought: "It is very likely that I will seize the opportunity due to the lack of vigilance of the bhikkhus, towards the eyes.. their tongue... their mind-base". Therefore, you should always be alert and guard the senses: When your eyes see beauty, you should not be preoccupied with the whole or the details. If you see any cause, because the eye-sense is not maintained, causing craving, grief, and negative actions to arise, overcome that cause, and strive to protect the eye-sense. When the ear hears the sound... The nose smells the incense... The tongue tastes the taste... The body feels... The mind perceives the dharmas, should not be immersed in the whole or the details. If you see any causes, because the mind-base is not controlled, causing craving, grief, and evil actions to arise, overcome that cause, endeavor to maintain the mind-base. "Bhikkhus, as long as you live and protect the senses, the evil one will not seize the opportunity, get tired of you and go away, just like a wolf does to a tortoise." One day, the Buddha met Aggivessana, a disciple of the Nirvana sect, and he taught him how to get fire from a tree: Aggivessana, if there was a log full of life, put it. in the damp water, then a man holding a fire tool came to that log, thinking: "I will draw fire, make heat appear". So, can he rub the log with a flamethrower so that the heat comes out? No, Venerable Gotama. Because the log was wet, he couldn't appear even if he tried to pull it a few distances from the fire. Likewise, Aggivessana, those recluses and brahmins who live without renunciation, If you don't eliminate the sensual pleasures of body and mind, such as lust for lust, lust for lust, lust for thirst, lust for lust, and lust for heat, you will not be able to spontaneously attain the view of Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment. And if they suddenly experience intense painful sensations, they will not be able to realize the view of Unsurpassed Enlightenment. Aggivessana, for example, if a stick, soaked with sap, is picked up from the water, placed on dry ground, and then someone comes and rubs it with a tool to make fire appear? No, Venerable Gotama. Because the log is wet, he only gets tired and frustrated. In the same way, Aggivessana, those recluses and brahmins who do not relinquish the sensual pleasures of body and mind cannot attain the knowledge of the Unsurpassed Enlightenment. Aggivessana, if there were a piece of dry tree, without sap, taken out of the water and placed on dry ground, Then a man came with a fire tool, thinking: "I will take the fire, and the light of the fire will appear". What do you think? Can he make fire appear? Yes, venerable Gotama. Because the log was dry, without any sap, it was picked up from the water and laid on dry land. In the same way, Aggivessana, those venerable ascetics and brahmins who live free from sensual pleasures of body and mind, and have given up thirst for craving, etc., can spontaneously realize the view of the Supreme Righteousness. sense; or suddenly feel painful sensations, one will realize the view of Unsurpassed Enlightenment. A practitioner is like a log drifting along a stream. Once upon a time, the Blessed One, staying at Kosambi, on the banks of the Ganges, saw a log drifting along the stream, and said to the bhikkhus: "Monks, if the log were to float along the stream, he said to the monks: He doesn't pull over to this shore, doesn't pull over to the other side, doesn't sink in the middle of a stream, doesn't run aground on a sand dune, If it is not picked up by humans, not picked up by non-humans, not caught in the whirlpool, not rotted inside, it will head towards the sea, down to the sea, and drift into the sea. Why? Because the river Ganges faces the sea, flows down to the sea, drifts into the sea. In the same way, bhikkhus, if you don't pull over to this shore... you will head towards Nirvana, down towards Nirvana, drifting into Nirvana. World-Honored One, please explain the meaning of the examples that the Blessed One just mentioned. The Male-stilts, this shore is synonymous with 6 internal bases, the other shore is synonymous with 6 foreign bases; To be drowned in the middle of the stream means to be happy and greedy, to be stranded on a sand dune is to be conceited, to be caught in a whirlpool is to have the 5 virtues of sensual pleasures, to be picked up by people means to live in close relationship with lay people. , share joy, share sadness, be happy when they are at peace, suffer when they are suffering, tie themselves to the work they have to do. To be picked up by non-humans means to live a holy life with the hope: "With this precept, asceticism, and holy life, I will become a God or a Brahma". Being rotten inside means taking the wrong precepts, following the evil dharma, living impure, having suspicious behavior, having shady actions that are covered up; not as a samana but as a sa-mon, not as a holy person, but in a sacrilegious appearance, with a corrupt interior, filled with lust like a pile of dirty garbage. This, bhikkhus, is the meaning of the examples I have given above. (The Samyutta Nikaya IV, chapter 4, paragraph 4: Log, pp.185-7). Above, we have introduced 7 examples of the method of practice that the Buddha compassionately taught to his monastic disciples. On the occasion of the Buddha's birthday, we can try to learn and introduce others to the same joyful teaching, both profoundness of the Master; then apply it in daily life, to perfect oneself and to perfect others; I think, it is also one of the meaningful offering gestures on the occasion of Father Tu's birthday. CHARACTERISTICS OF BUDDHA [*] Facing the depression of human life, Prince Siddhartha bravely gave up his golden life, giving up the position of a king that he was about to become. inheritance, embarking on the dusty road in search of truth. Finally, he found a miraculous remedy to save mankind's suffering, becoming the Supreme Medical King; and the remedy that he found was the 4 Noble Truths: The Truth of Suffering, the Truth of Suffering, the Truth of Cessation, and the Truth of Dao. So what is the Truth of Suffering? “Birth is suffering, old age is suffering, sickness is suffering, death is suffering, to be associated with what one dislikes is suffering, to be separated from what one likes is suffering. not getting what one desires is suffering; Clinging to the five aggregates is suffering.” What is the cause of the Noble Truth of Suffering? “It is craving that leads to rebirth, delighting here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures (Craving for sensual pleasures: Kāmatahā), longing for existence (Craving for Being: Bhavatahā) and craving for cessation (Craving for Non-being: Vibhavatahā)”. What is a doom? "It is the cessation of this very craving without leaving it, abandoning it, letting go of it, liberating from it." What is the main path leading to the Cessation of Suffering? “That is the Eightfold Path, including Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.” Whether the Buddhas appear or not, these four Noble Truths are still present in the universe. The Buddhas discovered these truths only when they were latent in the abyss of time. Scientific explanation, law can be called the law of cause and effect. These two elements encompass the entire Buddhist doctrine. The first three limbs represent Buddhist philosophy, the fourth represents Buddhist morality, based on the above philosophy. All these four limbs are based on this very body. The Buddha observed: "Based on this very one-foot-long body with perception and thinking, I declare the world, the cause of the world, the end of the world, and the way leading to the end of the world. gender". Here, the word "world" refers to suffering. Buddhism is based on the axis of suffering, but that does not mean that Buddhism is pessimistic. It is not entirely pessimistic, or entirely optimistic; on the contrary, Buddhism teaches a truth in between these two extremes. We might be right to call the Buddha a pessimist if he simply stated the truth about suffering without offering a method to end suffering. The Buddha recognized the universality of suffering and he himself devised a remedy to cure this common human disease. According to the Buddha, the highest conceivable happiness is Nirvana, that is, the cessation of suffering. In the British Encyclopedia, the author, in the section on pessimism, writes: “Pessimism indicates a frustrated attitude about life, a vague conception of suffering and sin. , they influence human behavior. The original teachings of the Buddha are truly as optimistic as any other Western optimism. To call it pessimism is only to impose on it a particular Western principle, according to which, there can be no happiness without the ego. Genuine Buddhists fervently look forward to entering the realm of eternal peace.” Usually, the enjoyment of sensual pleasures is the sole pleasure of the worldly. Obviously there is temporary happiness while we expect to satisfy and relive such fleeting material pleasures, but how illusory, temporary they are! According to the Buddha, non-attachment is the most noble happiness. The Buddha did not expect his followers to think about suffering all the time and live a miserable, unhappy life. He encouraged them to always be cheerful and joyful, because joy (piti) is one of the factors for enlightenment. True happiness is found within, not defined by possessions, children, glory, and conquests. If possessions are acquired unjustly, due to oppression, unfair appropriation, even looking at them with attachment, they will be a cause of suffering for the possessor. Instead of trying to explain suffering with logic, Buddhism takes it for granted and finds a cause to eliminate it. As long as there is craving, there is still suffering. Suffering can only be eliminated by following the Noble Eightfold Path and attaining the ultimate peace of Nirvana. These four truths can be verified experimentally. Therefore, the Buddhadharma is not based on fear of the unknown, but on facts that we can experiment and verify with our own experience. Therefore, Buddhism is very rational and practical. Such a rational and practical system cannot contain esoteric and secret rituals. Therefore, blind faith is very foreign to Buddhism. Where there is no blind faith, there is no coercion, oppression and fanaticism. As for the great prestige of Buddhism, we must say that through the process of 2,500 years, not a single drop of blood has been shed because in the name of the Buddha, no monarchical power has used its powerful sword to spread the word. spread the Dharma, and there is no conversion that requires violence or coercive solutions. However, the Buddha was the first and greatest preacher who ever lived in this world. Alodux Husley writes: “Of all the great religions of the world, Buddhism alone has gone its way without oppression, censorship, or interrogation.” Lord Russell noted: “Of all the great religions of history, I prefer Buddhism, especially in its original form, for it has the least terror of all time.” Buddhism appeals to the masses on an intellectual rather than an emotional basis, focusing on the personality of its followers rather than the strength of the majority. In the case of Upali, a follower of Nigantha Nataputta, approached the Buddha, heard the Buddha preach the Dharma, he was so happy that he immediately expressed his desire to become a disciple of the Buddha. But the Buddha advised him to be careful: "Householder, you should investigate the truth thoroughly, that would be better for an excellent person like you." Very happy at the sudden opinion of the Buddha, Upali said: "Venerable One, if I become a follower of another religion, the followers of that religion will publicize me and carry me around outside. street and declared: "Such a millionaire, has abandoned his previous creed and followed us". But with the Blessed One, he advised me to investigate thoroughly first. Through this opinion of the Blessed One, I am even happier. World-Honored One, once again, I take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, and take refuge in the Sangha." Buddhism is filled with such a spirit of freedom of inquiry and total tolerance. Buddhism is a religion with a free soul and a sympathetic heart, illuminating and warming the entire universe with two rays of compassion and wisdom; Its wondrous aura shines down on all sentient beings diving in the sea of ​​birth and death. The Buddha was so tolerant that he did not even use authority to give orders to his lay followers. Instead of using commands, he said: “It is your duty to do this, it is your duty not to do that.” He does not command but encourage. Buddha extended his tolerance to everyone and all sentient beings. It was the Buddha who first tried to abolish slavery and vehemently opposed the corrupt caste system that was deeply rooted in Indian soil. According to the Buddha's teachings, one becomes lowly or noble not by birth but by one's deeds. Class or color of skin does not prevent a person from wanting to become a Buddhist or join the Sangha. Fishermen, garbage dumpers, prostitutes, even martial artists and brahmins, are free to join the Sangha, enjoy equal treatment, and are also assigned positions proportional. For example, Venerable Upali, the barber, gained the upper hand over all others, being first in terms of discipline. Sunita, the shy garbage dumper, was accepted by the Buddha himself into the ranks of the Sangha and attained Arahantship. Angulimala, the general of robbers and criminals, was educated as a compassionate saint. The proud Aravaka took refuge in the Buddha and became a saint. Gypsy girl Ambapali joined the Sangha and attained Arahantship. Such examples are often found in the Tripitaka, demonstrating that the doors of Buddhism are open to all, regardless of caste, color or race. The Buddha also elevated the status of downtrodden women, not only making them aware of their important place in society, but also establishing the first celibate Nuns Church for women. with disciplines and precepts. The Buddha did not demean women, but only viewed them as people with a weaker nature than men. The Buddha clearly saw the natural goodness of both men and women, and assigned them their rightful place in his teachings. Gender is not an obstacle to the attainment of Sainthood. The Pali noun Matugàma is sometimes used to refer to women, that is, the class of mothers or the society of mothers. As a mother, a woman holds an honorable place in Buddhism. The wife is even seen as the "best friend" (parama sakhà) of the husband. Critics are quick to judge only superficially when they accuse Buddhism of being jealous of women. Although the Buddha initially refused to admit women into the Sangha, on reasonable grounds, he later gave in to the pleas of his mother-in-law, Basavadita-Kayatama. di (Pajapati Gotami) and founded the Order of Bhikkhunis. Just as the two Arahants Sariputta and Moggallana were appointed as two top disciples in the Order of Bhikkhus, The Buddha designated the Arahants Khema and Uppalavanna as the two top leaders among female disciples. Many other female disciples were also called by the Buddha himself to be his excellent and devoted disciples. On one occasion, King Kosala was displeased when he heard that the queen had given birth to a baby girl, the Buddha said to the king: "O great king, a little girl may prove to be a better son in the future. man!" Many women who should have fallen into oblivion turned out to be outstanding in many ways and achieved liberation through practicing the Dharma and joining the congregation. In this new congregation has proven to be a blessed environment for many women; queens, princesses, girls of nobles, widows, widows, poor women, poor gypsy girls; all these people, regardless of their class and social status, met in the same preaching place, enjoyed the same consolation, the ultimate purity, and breathed the same air of freedom that those who lived confined in thatched huts or palaces could not have. Okay. The Buddha himself forbade the killing of pitiful animals for sacrifice, advising his followers to extend compassion to all sentient beings, and even to the tiniest creatures crawling under their feet. No one has the right to destroy the life of another living being, for real life is precious to all. True Buddhists must show compassion to all sentient beings, must identify themselves with all, must not discriminate in the slightest as to race, color or sex. It is the compassion of Buddhism that has broken down all the walls separating one person from another. There is no reason to separate yourself from others just because they belong to a different religion or ethnicity. In that great Edict of Mercy, based on the Sutras of Minor Discrimination and Great Discrimination (Culla Vyùha and Mahà Vyùha), King Asoka said: “Only harmony is the most beautiful, all are beautiful. must be willing to listen to the teachings that others believe.” Buddhism is not limited to any particular country or people. Buddhism is a universal religion. Buddhism is not a nationalism, in other words, this nationalism is a form of class on a broader basis. Buddhism is a supranationalism, if I may say so. For a Buddhist, there are no nuns or relatives, enemies or foreigners, heretics or impoverished people, because universal love is expressed through sympathy creating brotherhood among all sentient beings. A Buddhist sees the whole world as his motherland, and everyone as his brother and sister. Thus, real Buddhism is unique in its tolerance, non-violence, rationality, practicality, effectiveness, and universality. It is the highest of all influences combined, and the only lever that can lift the world. These are some of the distinctive features of Buddhism, and among the basic teachings can be mentioned some other issues such as: karma or the moral law of cause and effect, the theory of rebirth, no-self and Nirvana. (Excerpt from Buddhism in a Nutshell by Narada Thera) THE REASON FOR BUDDHISM TRAN HUNG THINH Any Vietnamese, when looking through the national history, will admit that the Tran dynasty is one of the dynasties. most prosperous and glorious in the history of our country. What has led to that flourishing? That is a question that historians have given many answers to. However, there does not seem to be an answer that makes everyone completely satisfied. Therefore, it is still the responsibility of each of them to find out the other causes. Here are a few historical examples to help clarify the above issue. The heroic, compassionate, loving people of the early kings of the Tran Dynasty For the purpose of revitalizing the education of the country, In June of the third year of Nguyen Phong (1925), King Thai Tong (1225-1258) founded the National Academy, for people to build statues of Confucius, Chu Cong, and Mencius, and draw 72 sage people to worship. (Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, volume II, Hanoi Social Science Publishing House, 1985). By doing that, it proves that Thai Tong has a long-term vision, a broad vision, a generous spirit, and an open mind. As a Buddhist, not only did he not discriminate against Confucianism, but on the contrary, he also tried to promote Confucianism, respect talents, and create conditions for the country to become prosperous. Then he knew how to put the interests of the nation and nation above his own and his own religion. The following forgiveness of Hoang Cu Da's sins proves that. Because he could not eat mangoes given by the king, Hoang Cu Da was angry when the enemy troops arrived. After the war was over, the court demanded that Cu Da be punished, the king said: "Cu Da's crime is worthy of death. but it's my fault. Now forgive the sin of death, let the enemy fight the enemy to make atonement." (ibid. - 26) Thai Tong's virtue and kindness were like that, so when discussing the king, historian Phan Huy Chu (1782 - 1840) wrote: "The king's divine nature is very kind, trusting and using sages and determination. making rituals, penal laws, and legal regulations, it is commendable” (Calendar Trieu Hierarchy of the Charter of the Kindergarten). To see more clearly the actions of Thai Tong, we can read the following comment of historian Ngo Thi Si (1726 - 1780): "A few years later, the king paid attention to his studies, so he improved a lot, deeply studied the internal scriptures, made the book Lock Hu Luc, loved the scenery of the mountains, considered life and death the same, although the meaning was close to the 'no death' religion, but the spirit was far-reaching and sublime; Therefore, giving up the throne is like dumping broken sandals." (Viet Su Tieu An - volume III). The idea is that through the opinions of the two historians above, it is also possible to partly illustrate the portrait of an enlightened king of the Tran dynasty. The successor of Thai Tong was Thanh Tong (1258 - 1278). His wisdom and benevolence can be said to match his father's king. When the court opened a banquet, the king ate with the royal courtiers. When it was dark when I couldn't return, my king and I spread out a long mat and slept together at the Royal Palace very intimately. The King once told the people in the Royal Family: "The world is the Ancestor's kingdom, the successors of the Ancestors must enjoy the same wealth as their brothers. Although outside there is a person in the Ton throne, served by the whole world, but inside, you and I are blood relatives. If you worry, you will worry, when you are happy, you will be happy. You should pass these words on to your children and grandchildren so that they will not forget, then it is the long-lived blessing of the communal house of the temple" (ibid. - 35). Not only did he treat the king's family with kindness, but he also showed mercy towards his courtiers. When the Yuan army entered the citadel, there were people in the court who turned their hearts to the enemy. By the time the enemy withdrew, the court had captured a mandarin's report of the enemy's goods. Someone demanded to be revealed to punish the traitors. But Thanh Tong (now the Supreme Emperor) ordered to burn them all to reassure everyone (Id - 63). The king's special status was described by Ngo Thi Si: "Meeting the officials in Binh Than, treating his father in Dien Hong, no one did not ask about it... Thinking back when going to Chi Linh, Van Kiep, the battle of Dai Than, Bach Dang, when the boat was floating with a bowl of steamy rice, my king, father and son, still worried about the country through the storm" (Viet Su Tieu An). And here is the comment of the historian Ngo Si Lien: "The king is loyal and benevolent, I am kind and respectful, the father enlightens first, the son inherits later, the Tran dynasty's inheritance is so stable" (Dai Viet Su) Ky Toan Thu, volume II, p. 28). Human filial piety is the root of everyone, for the Emperor, that virtue is even more necessary to win people's hearts, make people trust, respect and obey, thereby building a dynasty. mighty and prosperous. Following in the footsteps of his father king, keeping the social relations, was Nhan Tong (1279 - 1293), he was also famous as a wise man, as commented by the historian Ngo family: "The king was born to impregnated the saint's brother. dignified appearance, golden nuances, perfect body, bright spirit…. benevolent and gentle, unite people's hearts, and prosper forever, he is truly a virtuous and virtuous king of the Tran Dynasty" (Ibid. - p. 42). When Toa Do lost the Battle of Tay Ket, was killed by our army, brought his head to the king, saw Toa Do's head, and the king said with pity: "You made me like this". Then he took off his robe, covering Toa Do's head, and ordered his troops to be buried. That gesture not only shows the style of the Emperor, but also has the effect of promoting the spirit of soldiers wholeheartedly for the country. When playing outside, if he met the family of the kingdoms on the street, the king would call back to visit, not let the bodyguards yell at them, and said to the left and right: "On weekdays, there are bodyguards on the left and right but When the country is in trouble, only they are present” (ibid. – p. 66). Showing true love to each humble family member of the princes, this behavior can be done by others, but loving even one's enemies is only Nhan Tong, a person imbued with the spirit of compassion. , the altruism of Buddhism, only a Zen Patriarch can do so. In 1293 Nhan Tong ceded the throne to his son Anh Tong (1293-1314). After ascending the throne, Anh Tong obeyed the will of the Supreme Emperor and married Princess Huyen Tran to Lord Champa, Che Man (1306). King Chiem offered two continents, O and Ly, as a sacrifice. This act of Anh Tong not only kept his loyalty, but also created a close relationship with his neighbors, and expanded the borders of the rich country. One day, the procession of the Holy Emperor Nhan Tong's eternal life came, but the people were still standing in the palace, the generals chased away the people and still did not disperse. The king sent Trinh Trong Tu to disperse. Trong Tu then organized each army, divided into many places, sang Long hummed songs, the people found it strange to come and see, so that they could receive the Emperor's soul and arrange it in Quy Duc's mausoleum. Through this scene, we clearly see the people's admiration for the court and the loyalty of the Tran kings. After becoming Thai Thuong Hoang, one day the Emperor invited Hue Tuc Vuong to the palace to discuss. Capital or anti-Buddhist and Lao, seeing that the Emperor was a vegetarian, Hue Tuc Vuong said: "I don't know how to be a vegetarian, what is the benefit of being a vegetarian". The Emperor knew what he meant and immediately said: "My fathers used to be vegetarians, so I just imitated them." Hue Tuc was silent and withdrew (ibid. – p.114). How can Anh Tong's words be so profound, kind and respectful? Until Minh Ton (1314 - 1329) ascended the throne, he also proved to be a kind and wise king, worthy of preserving the glorious career of his father. The king's answer to Hieu Kha clearly shows that. One day Hieu Kha praised the king for being better than Anh Tong, the king changed his face and prevented him from saying, and reproached: "Whoever praises others as being better than his father, must be an unfilial person, so he will say that" (ibid. – p.112). This gesture both paid respect to the Fairy King and had the effect of shaping Hieu Ke's character. At that time someone said that in the folk there are many people living wandering to old age still do not have civil status, refuse to collect translation, tax anything. The king said, "If there are no such people, how can we call a peaceful life? You want me to punish them, what's the point?" (e.g. – p.137). The king's personality was so special that the historian Phan Phu Tien praised: "Minh Tong has a benevolent nature, inherits peace, and maintains the rules of his ancestors" (ibid. - p.137). In 1362, during the reign of King Du Tong (1314 - 1369), the country suffered from natural disasters, crop failure, and people were hungry and sick. The court opened a warehouse to collect rice money and distribute it to the people. Those who are sick are given two dew rubies, two money and two pounds of rice (ibid. – p.141). To see clearly how benevolent, wise, and the unique dignity of the Tran kings, we can listen to Le Quy Don's comment (1726 - 1784): "Characteristics of the imperial dynasty Tran is the transmission of the throne to children (ibid. - p.169). The Tran Dynasty treated the scholar generously without being forced, gentle but polite. Therefore, the talented people at that time had the will to be independent, chivalrous, and steadfast beyond the habit of making history books shine. They were not ashamed of heaven above, and were not ashamed of earth below. Oh how the next life can keep up! From the dynasties (Le dynasty) onward, that performance gradually went unheard of!” (Kien Van Tieu Luc, Social Science Publishing House, 1977, pp. 258). All-talented martial arts generals a. Military good The Yuan Mong army is a good army, good at foot, rides well, travels long distances, has conquered half of Europe and is proud to rarely fail. But three times to invade our country, all three times suffered catastrophic failure. The illustrious feats of our army and people had many causes, one of which was the strategic talent and courage of the generals at that time. The generals knew how to use their forte to fight the epidemic: 1. Using naval warfare to fight the enemy; 2. Use ambush for a surprise attack; 3. Using the patriotic army to fight the invaders; 4. Using indigenous troops to fight the expeditionary army; 5. Intercepting the supply convoys. As the crusaders, they were very concerned about the supply side. Khanh Du (? - 1339) understood that weakness of the enemy, so he ambushed the army to attack the supply group of the Nguyen army at Van Don wharf, obtaining countless supplies and weapons. On November 28, 1287, Nhan Duc Hau used his navy to defeat the enemy in Da Mo valley, obtaining many warships and weapons. On March 8, 1288, our army fought a decisive battle at Bach Dang River. In this battle, our army won and won a glorious victory, captured 400 enemy ships, captured O Ma Nhi and Tich Le Co alive, ending the war. When celebrating the victory at Chieu Lang, Nhan Tong was inspired to read two verses: "Xa Tac has two fetters of horse and stone, the river is forever stable". (phone number – p.60) b. Good at literature The generals of the Tran dynasty were not only good at military but also had literary talent, knowing how to use pen to motivate soldiers. Read the following passage in Hung Dao Vuong's article Hich generals and soldiers (1232 - 1300) who does not appreciate it: "How much more could I use you to be born in a time of turmoil and encounter hardships. Seeing enemy generals striding across the street, bending kite owls' tongues to insult the court, bullying the Patriarchs with the bodies of goats and dogs; exploiting the fate of Kublai Khan, asking for silk and jade to satisfy his endless greed, pretending to be the king of Yunnan, but collecting silver and gold to dredge up limited stock. It's like feeding a hungry tiger with meat, so you won't be harmed in the future!" “I often forget to eat at mealtimes, pat my pillow in the middle of the night, my intestines hurt like hell, and my eyes are filled with tears; Only angry can't butcher, skin, eat liver and drink enemy blood, even though these hundred corpses are left to dry in the grass, and these thousands of corpses are wrapped in horse skins, I am satisfied" (Poetry of Van Ly Tran, volume II, vol. Thuong, Social Science Publishing House, Hanoi, 1988, p. 392). There is clearly an arousal emanating from the words as a drum beat, reminiscent of Quang Trung's remark about Ngo Thoi Nhiem's ​​pen: "The pen of Ngo Thoi Nhiem is stronger than many divisions". In his last will, Hung Dao Vuong discussed military strategy with King Anh Tong; “My king is united, the brothers are in harmony, the whole country must gather their strength, they have to be tied up… If the enemy army comes rushing like a fire, it is an easy situation to control… An army must be raised. parents can then use it. Besides, it is better to nurture the people's strength in order to make deep roots and durable roots, that is the top policy to protect the country." (ibid. - p.397) Building an army of father and son, that is the goal that Pham Ngu Lao (1255 - 1320) has accomplished. He lived a very simple life, treated his soldiers like family, shared hardships, and at that time called his army the Father of Chi soldiers (ibid. - p. 562). In addition, he also has a talent for writing poetry, in his poem Tuoi Hoai exudes a heavenly aura: Spear dance in the mountains and rivers in the autumn, The three mighty armies overcome the Taurus star. The man's reputation is still in debt, and he is ashamed to listen to the story of Wuhou. (Vietnam History - Tran Trong Kim) With such a powerful and majestic voice is the poetic voice of General Tran Quang Khai (1241 - 1294) Chuong Duong robbed the enemy's spear, Ham Tu captured the enemy; Peace should strive, Non-water thousands of autumn. (ibid. - p.114) The generals each have a different look, unlike Quang Khai who has a powerful and eloquent voice, Nhat Duat (1255 - 1330) is profound and very knowledgeable about the customs of the upper aboriginal peoples. , and know their language well. Therefore, when Trinh Giac Mat in Da Giang rebelled, he and his servant went straight to the enemy camp, convincing them to surrender. Giac Mi, because of his admiration and respect for his talent, brought his whole family to surrender, so that the three troops did not waste arrows but still obtained victory. There are many talented generals of the Tran dynasty, we can mention a general who is both talented in fighting in battle and good in military tactics, which is General Tran Khanh Du (? - 1339). When the title of the book Van Kiep Tong The Secret Letter of Hung Dao Vuong, he wrote: “Anyone who is good at leading the army does not need to set up a battle; If you are good at fighting, you don't need to fight; If you are good at fighting, you can't lose; If you fail well, you will not be harmed” (DVSKTT, 11, 82). The reason why there were so many talented generals and martial arts officers in the Tran Dynasty was because: "The king founded a school, respected the profession of literature, set up a house to practice martial arts, both literature and martial arts seemed very brilliant". That is Ngo Thi Si's comment in Viet Su Tieu An. He continued: "So Han Sieu, Trung Ngan, Nhat Duat, Ngu Lao appeared one after another. Van Trinh and Hung Dao were famous Confucian names, famous generals at that time, it was the result of respecting literature and martial arts." Outstanding diplomats honor the nation When O Ma Nhi marched to Dong Bo Dau, Nhan Tong wanted to investigate the enemy's situation, so he sent Do Khac Chung to his barracks to say he was coming to negotiate. In order to suppress the spirit of the emissary, O Ma Nhi questioned many problems, but Khac Chung remained calm, calmly replied fluently, making them very impressed, telling his generals: "You This is in a situation of being threatened, but natural words ... are good at responding. It can be said that it does not humiliate the king, its country has good people, it is not easy to plot." (i) In contact with the Northern courtiers, he made them admire his eloquence. By the time you enter, On the occasion of the foreign fan offering, King Nguyen asked the mandarins to do a lesson about the fan. Dinh Chi immediately picked up a pen and finished writing the following poem: Melting gold and melting rocks, heaven and earth were like furnaces, you were Y, Chu Dai Nho at that time. The north wind was bitter, the rain was cloudy, you were Di, Qi, hungry at that time. UMBRELLA! If you use it, do it, if you leave it, lie down, only I use you like that! (ibid. – p. 93) Thereby, the Nguyen Dynasty's king and I were even more admired. And it is said that King Nguyen conferred him as the Two Kingdoms of Poinsettia (Thailand of both countries). Again, the story of Nguyen Dai Phap leading our diplomatic mission to the Nguyen dynasty in 1292. When visiting the provincial officials, seeing Chieu Quoc Vuong Ich Tac sitting there, Dai Phap greeted everyone, leaving only Ich Tac and Ich Tac. asked: "Aren't you the scribe at Zhao Dao Vuong's house?". Dafa replied, "Life changes, Dai Phap was originally a scribe for Chieu Dao Vuong, but now he is a messenger, just like Binh Chuong was once the king's son, but now he is a warlord" (ibid. - p.66). Ich Tac looked embarrassed. Not only when we sent ambassadors to the North, the ambassadors made the Northern dynasties respect the Vietnamese people, but when we went to the South, our diplomats also made them change their practices. According to the Champa ritual, when entering the court, the messenger had to bow to the Champa lord first, then read the letter. But when Nhu Hai arrived there, when he entered the court, he brought a letter to the court and said to Lord Chiem: "Since the angel of the Thien Dynasty brought the letter of the Son of Heaven, away from the long face for a long time, now opening the e-mail is as real as it looks. When I saw the face of the Son of Heaven, I had to bow down to the letter before declaring it to be read." From then on, our envoys to Champa no longer bow to the King of Champa (ibid. - 86). So, Emperor Nhan Tong praised: Nhu Hai is really a good person. Of course, talent is always present, but diplomatic emissaries to foreign countries have not lost the country's face, but also made the neighbors respect and admire, they must admit that the Tran Dynasty was very special. . Thanks to their exemplary lives, the Tran kings united people's hearts, making the whole people unite, above and below in one heart, even a child feels responsible when the country is born. be in jeopardy. Therefore, when the court held a meeting to discuss the fight against foreign invaders, Hoai Van Hau Quoc Toan hated that he was still a child and was not allowed to attend, excited, and crushed the orange he was holding in his hand when he did not know. Then retreated, mobilized the servants, bought weapons, raised a flag with six words on it: "Destroy the enemy's strength and report the emperor's grace". (Breaking the enemy strong, repaying the king's favor); then automatically dispatch troops, rushed to fight the enemy (ibid. - 46). Senior Lieutenant General Quang Khai and Hung Dao Vuong were not close to each other, and it was suspected that there was something between the two sides. To solve that suspicion, one day the two met, so they bathed each other. Hung Dao said: "Today is a bath for the General". Quang Khai also said: "Today was bathed by the Duke". Since then, the reciprocal relationship between the two has become more and more intimate (ibid. - p.70). This very small detail has said a great deal: the spirit of solidarity between people. Especially the sense of family, family love glue paint. Reading in the history, we rarely see any dynasty where the love of the family is as passionate as the first dynasty of the Tran Dynasty. Beating, shouting came from the mouths of the elders at the Dien Hong Conference convened by the Supreme Emperor Thanh Tong. It is a manifestation of unanimity and high determination, at the same time as a challenge to the enemy's aggressive intentions. Perhaps the historical god of the Ngo family was right when he commented on this: "The Ho enemy entering and robbing is a great problem for the country. The two kings conspired, and the servants had a meeting, didn't they have any plans to fight the enemy, but had to wait for the banquet to ask the old man's plan? It was because the Holy Emperor wanted to do this to test the sincerity of the people's support, and to let the people listen to the enquiry and appreciate it with enthusiasm. That is to keep the meaning that the ancients raised the elderly to ask for good words” (ibid. – p.44). Three times to defeat the Nguyen army, creating the most glorious history of the nation, did the Tran kings cleverly take advantage of the consensus of the people? In Vietnamese folklore, there is a saying: "Strongly united, we will live; if we are divided, we will die". Then the resulting unity is one of the factors that determine the success of a team. confident spirit, Solidarity is a necessary element, but in order to be united, a leader must have a confident and decisive will to convince people to follow his or her orders. In December 1225, the enemy was advancing strongly, our army had to retreat to the middle of the Thien Mac River, Thai Tong immediately moved the boat to the place of Thai monk Tran Thu Do (1194 - 1264) to ask for a plan to fight the enemy. Seeing the worried state of Thai Tong, Thu Do replied: "My head has not fallen to the ground, please don't worry about it" (ibid. - p.26). Thu Do's confident words had a great effect, both reassuring Thai Tong and strongly motivating the fighting courage of the three armies. The same resolute and courageous way is Hung Dao Vuong's answer to Thanh Tong. When the Yuan army was rushing into the capital, Thanh Tong pretended to ask him: "If the enemy is like this, we have to surrender." Hung Dao replied: "Your Majesty cut off the head of the god first, then surrender". And another time when King Nhan Tong came to ask about the situation of the enemy army, he replied nonchalantly: "This year we will fight the enemy at leisure" (ibid. - p.57). Thu Do was instrumental in building the Tran dynasty's inheritance, had a very strong family spirit, took care of everything, and acted decisively and confidently. Inheriting the family tradition, Hung Dao proved to be an outstanding hero, literary and martial arts. Both confident in their own talents, and displayed an extreme patriotism. His personality and intelligence made the court reassured, the soldiers excited. Three times he won the Yuan army, his merit was not small. Is that why the proverb says: "Heroes make history?" Every time we turn to the history page, we can't help but be moved and proud to remember the fierce image of the outstanding hero of the Tran dynasty. The spirit of independence and self-reliance The spirit of self-confidence and self-reliance is necessary to build the country, so the spirit of independence and self-reliance is equally important in the work of nation building and defense. With the spirit of independence, our country's writers have consciously created a separate script for the nation called Nom script. This work has been started before, but it was not until the Tran dynasty that it was completed. Nguyen Thuyen's famous crocodile sacrifice is an example. He made this essay like the previous crocodile sacrifice of Han Du, so King Nhan Tong gave him the Han family name, Han Thuyen. But unfortunately that article is now lost. In addition, we also see that Nhan Tong has two songs: Cu Tran Lac Dao Phu and Dac De Lam Tuyen Thanh Dao Ca; Huyen Quang (1254 - 1334) has a self-finished Van Yen Bay; Legend has it that Mac Dinh Chi had a rich teacher. Fortunately, these texts are still preserved today. They are treasures in the national literary treasure. The most typical independence is the answer of King Minh Tong (1314 - 1329) to his courtiers. On the occasion of Le Quat and Pham Su Manh wanted to change the regime, the king said: "Our country has its own rules, North and South are different, if you follow the scheme of white-faced students to find a way to advance, then only only more chaos” (ibid. – p.138). King Nghe Tong (1370 - 1372) also said: "The court built the country, had its own legal regime, did not follow the Song regime because the North and the South were the masters of their own countries, there was no need to imitate each other. Around the year of Dai Tri (1358 - 1369), the white-faced student working in the country did not understand the deep meaning when establishing the law, so he changed the old law of the Ancestors according to the Northern customs, such as clothes, music and music. many other things. Starting from now on, Politics must return to the rules of the Khai Thai dynasty (1324 - 1329). Thereby we clearly see the sense of national autonomy and national independence spirit of the early Tran kings and progressive patriots. They wanted to create a distinctive Vietnamese identity, separate from the influences of the North, with a pride in the fine traditions of their forefathers. Special Qualities The ancients said: "One householder, one nation flourishes" (If a family has benevolence, the whole country has benevolence). Was it thanks to the influence of the independent spirit and self-respect of the Tran kings that Binh Trong affirmatively answered the enemy general when he was captured! Knowing that he was a famous general, the enemy wanted to convince him to surrender, but Binh Trong shouted: "I would rather be a demon in the South, and not be the king of the North" (ibid. - p.51). That affirmation just showed the heroic mettle of a famous general, just attached himself to the soul of the beloved mountain river. Tran Lieu (1211 - 1251), who was sad because of the loss of Thuan Thien, had a grudge against Thai Tong, so when he died, he took Quoc Tuan's hand and told him to take the throne. Quoc Tuan doesn't think it's right. Then, wanting to test the hearts of two subordinates, Da Tuong and Yet Kieu, Quoc Tuan brought his father's advice to them. The two men replied: "Though doing this, you will be rich for a while, but leave a lasting reputation. Now, isn't the Great King rich enough? We swore to die old age to be servants, not to be a mandarin without being loyal” (ibid. – p.77). Quoc Tuan is a well-educated general, so he distinguishes between right and wrong, which is easy to understand. But the other two are men of generals, uneducated but intelligently argued, with such noble means to be admired. That is the special mettle of martial arts generals, and this is the integrity of a famous god. Dinh Chi is inherently honest, so his family is very pure. The king sympathized with this situation, sent someone at night to bring 10 francs of money to his house. The next day in adoration, he honestly told the king about it; The king said: "If no one takes it, you can take it and use it" (ibid. - p. 108). I live frugally and with integrityFirst of all, the king is interested in the life of each courtier. Oh, what a rare scene of the Holy King, I Hien! In addition, there is Chu Van Trinh (? - 1370) who is straightforward, resolute, and persistent, not seeking fame or profit. When offering That truncation (sorry to cut 7 courtiers) to King Du Tong (1314 - 1369), when the king did not answer, he shook his shirt from the mandarin, went home to open a school to teach. Many of his students passed university and held important positions in the court. Pham Su Manh, Le Quat worked until Hanh Khien but still kept the student's ceremony; When I visit the teacher, I bow under the bed, I am very happy to talk to him. Whoever has something bad, he frankly reprimanded; even yelled at him not to meet. His special personality can be clearly seen through the following comment of the historian Ngo Si Lien: "Van Trinh worshiped the king very frankly, dissuaded, If you go to court to do justice, if you train talented people, public servants will come out, and if you have a noble self-discipline, even the Son of Heaven can't force you to be me. What's more, the dignified posture that makes the teacher strict, the harsh voice that the flatterers are afraid of. Thousand years later, listening to his performance, won't the liar be honest, the weak know how to be independent? If you don't find out the reason, who knows that his badge is worthy of the person he is. He really deserves to be considered the ancestor of the Confucianism of our country and deserves to be worshiped in the Temple of Literature” (ibid. – p.153). It is enough to see that the personality and morality of the Hien servants are very essential factors for building a society with order and stability in many aspects. Their virtues are good examples for everyone to follow, and thereby form the discipline of an ideal society. The reasons that we have studied above constitute the positive factors to bring the country to Phu Cuong. That's obvious. But what motive has accomplished these causes, and which is the core of all causes? Perhaps it is: During the Tran dynasty, Buddhism was adopted as the national religion In the stele of Thien Phuc pagoda, Le Quat complained: "How can the Buddhist theory of happiness touch people so deeply! From the top to the king, from the bottom to the people, whenever it comes to giving alms to Buddha, even if you run out of money, you will not regret it. Today, to be donated to the construction of pagodas and towers, it is joyful as if tomorrow will be repaid well. Therefore, from the capital to the outside of the province, everywhere in the village and alley, there is no need to give orders but also obey, not forced to swear but still keep true. Wherever there is a house, there is a Buddhist temple. The damaged pagoda was repaired, the drum bell castle accounted for half of the population. The flourishing of Buddhism is too easy, but the devotion is very strict” (Vietnam Buddhist History - I - Nguyen Lang - p.413). And the epitaph of Khai Nghiem pagoda by Truong Han Sieu (? - 1354) writes: "The statue of the Buddha was created for the Buddha to use as a means of saving sentient beings, so that the foolish do not know, the ignorant do not rely on it. return to the good path… Therefore, in the most elegant and elegant places in the country, temples have occupied half” (Poetry of Van Ly Tran-II Thuong, p.748). Although the two Confucianists, Quat, did not like Buddhism and intended to criticize it, through it we see that they clearly demonstrated that Buddhism was flourishing at that time, from the top to the bottom, from the bottom to the bottom. are all very respectful. The teaching of compassion and suffering, Cause and effect of good and evil have been deeply instilled in all classes of people. In addition, if we read other documents such as Lock Hu Luc, Tue Trung Thuong Si Ngu Luc, Tam To Thuc Luc, etc., we will see that Buddhism at that time skillfully deployed its positive, vivid and practical aspects. and progress to meet the practical needs of the times. Here are some salient features: a. The spirit of independence and resilience Vietnamese Buddhism has absorbed two influences from India and China, over time, Zen masters have gradually merged to form a special Vietnamese identity. That is the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen sect that Tran Thai Tong is the one who has great merit in the discovery. Inheriting the tradition of his father, Tran Nhan Tong built a complete independent Zen sect called Truc Lam Yen Tu in which the king was the first patriarch. The second Patriarch is Phap Loa (1284 - 1330) and the third is Huyen Quang (1254 - 1334) who joined hands to promote this Zen sect more and more brilliantly. According to the book Tran Trieu Thien Tong Ban Hanh by Zen Master Chan Nguyen (1647 - 1726), during the reign of Tran Thai Tong, two Chinese Zen masters, Thien Phong and Tong Duc Thanh, went to Vietnam. The two men went to Vietnam not for missionary purposes, but because they heard that Thai Tong had attained enlightenment, they came to receive a teaching. Although the two men later contributed to the revival of Zen Buddhism in Vietnam, it is enough to say the independent nature and high self-reliance of Vietnamese Buddhism at that time. b. The spirit of reincarnation in action Kings Thai Tong, Thanh Tong and Nhan Tong took care of the government, studied religion, and practiced Zen. For them, cultivation is associated with all activities of daily life. and closely related to the activities of people in society. Saint Tong both attended the banquet and discussed the Zen religion; Tue Trung Thuong Si (1230 - 1291) mixed his light in a dusty life; and Nhan Tong, Cu Tran lost his way leisurely: In a happy life, the path depends on fate. When hungry, eat, when tired, rest immediately. The house is full of treasures. Don't run for a sword. Ask for Zen in silence. (VNPGSL, I, NL, p.316) c. The spirit of freedom and freedom Although Buddhism in the Tran dynasty had the status of a state religion, the Tran kings were fervent Buddhists, but they did not want to claim the exclusive right to Buddhism, but instead encouraged and supported Buddhism. support Confucianism and Taoism to develop in the spirit of integration with the concept of the Three Religions of the same age. The establishment of a temple of literature to worship Confucius (551 - 479 BC) and the sages of Thai Tong shows the meaning of openness and tolerance of Buddhism. d. The spirit of Zen and the Pure Companion In the book Lock Hu Luc (Vietnamese Buddhist Dictionary Tung San. Buddhist Association of Tonkin, 1943) we see that Thai Tong discussed the method of meditation and discussed the Pure Land method and at the same time. set up penitential courses to practice six times in each day. Thus, it is clear that Zen and Purity are not separate. In the book Thuong Si Ngu Lu - although it is a book of Luu Lu, which is heavy in Zen study, but Tue Trung still mentions the Pure Land: Amitabha Buddha hidden in the heart, the Dharma-body of the continent has spread throughout the West and East. and in Living Tran lost the way, Nhan Tong wrote: Pure land is pure heart, Don't doubt to ask about the West, Amitabha is the shining nature, No need to search for Ultimate Bliss. e. Less use of Tantric Buddhism, preferring the purity of Vietnamese Buddhism at the end of the Ly dynasty, mixed with many Tantric features, especially the Tantric Zen school. Zen masters often exploited the wonderful uses of Tantric Buddhism to seek advice, cure diseases, etc. However, at the beginning of the Tran dynasty, the nuances of Tantric Buddhism seemed to be very few. It was only during the Phap Loa period that the emphasis was on empowerment ceremonies and other forms. After leaving home, Truc Lam (Nhan Tong) was very active, often going all over the country, advising people to break down the nouns of the temple and practice the doctrine of the ten virtues (Three ancestors for food). Thus, Buddhism at that time focused on promoting the positive, practical and pure aspects; remove elements that are deemed no longer suitable for contemporary activities. In short, in a country with a bright and gentle king, the court is harmonious, above and below with one heart, from above from the Son of Heaven, from the bottom to the people, from an innocent baby to the gray-headed old people, all are one heart for the people, for the country. In every field of military, diplomacy, education, politics, there are outstanding talents. Everyone in society has the spirit of independence, self-control, self-confidence and self-reliance. Like that, of course, there are conditions to build a powerful nation. But the most important thing is the guiding thought to guide all these activities. That is the spirit of Buddhism. An incarnated spirit acts, compassionately saves suffering, takes people as an object to serve. Kings Thai Tong, Thanh Tong, and Nhan Tong were both a head of state and a spiritual leader. They are outstanding politicians, as well as exemplary moralists. They have both a solid knowledge of the world and a profound level of Buddhism. They use Buddhism for political purposes, but it's a humanist politics, human-centered. The image of a national leader leading the army to battle when the country is in danger, but at the same time a Zen master who escaped when the country was peaceful, it is the miraculous crystallization of an autonomous Buddhism, in a peaceful country. prosperous independent nation. Buddhism EXPLAINED [†] About Bhikkhu Khantipalo Bhikkhu Khantipalo (1932 -?) in Laurence Mills, England. Mr. Khantipalo was ordained to study Buddhism in London, received instruction with Bhikkhu Dr. Hammalaw Saddhatissa Maha Thera (1914-1990), then studied with Bhikkhu Buddharakshita, ordained a bhikkhu in 1961. During his time in India, Mr. Khantipalo studied and practiced for six months with Bhikkhu Buddharakshita in the 1960s. After that, he stayed with Bhikkhu Sangharakshita - an Englishman. After living in India for three years, Master Khantipalo went to Thailand, here he was ordained in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. In 1973, Brother Khantipalo went to Australia and helped found an association called Wat Buddharangsee in Stanmore, Sydney. In 1978, Brother Khantipalo together with Ayya Khema founded Wat Buddha Dhamma in Wisemans Ferry located on the outskirts of Sydney. Currently, Brother Khantipalo is in Victoria, Australia. The explained Buddhist book consists of three parts. We criticized the translation of the first part of the book. WHAT DO Buddhists BELIEVE? This is a very common question asked by many people, when they first received the teachings of the Buddha, especially in Thailand, where more than 90% of the people are Buddhists. Believing in the Buddha's Word Teaching the Dharma means support, in fact, it is inherent in human nature, if we practice the Dharma, we will overcome the sea of ​​afflictions and worries. The Dharma is also a recipe for the practitioner's enjoyment. The teachings of Buddhism are very clear, there is no such thing as a belief, there is no such thing as a dogma. A Buddhist is free to ask any question of the Buddha's teachings, as the Master often encourages people to do so. There is no question that Buddhists should not ask, should not believe blindly, the Buddha's teaching advises Buddhists to come to see and believe wisely. Thus, a person comes to the Dharma because he or she has a little wisdom to perceive in the Dharma. While accepting beliefs, doctrinal beliefs are mostly unconfirmed. While practicing the Dharma Buddhists see one fact - the Dharma is practical, so their faith is increased. With the growth of faith, Buddhists can practice more deeply, and while practicing the Dharma they experience inner peace, and their faith grows stronger. Thus, faith and wisdom are strengthened and complemented by practice. We can see it in many other teachings of Buddhism, which is why the Guru's teaching is symbolized as the wheel, as it positively increases faith and inner peace as in the example. example above. Practicing and Realizing the Teachings From the above problem comes the conclusion: The entire teaching of the Buddha, each person can verify right in the present life, by making efforts to practice. The Buddha confirmed to everyone that Buddhists could experience the Guru's teachings, so He declared that My teachings were to come to see. That is, verifiable, experiment in yourself and see immediately, if the teaching is carried out. Thus, the Buddha's teaching may not be purely theoretical. Theories only lead people astray. The teachings of the Buddha are the discovery, through the practical methods of inward spiritual progress, as verified by a man who is completely clear to himself. The benefits of practicing the Buddha's teachings have three parts. The first benefit is to help us recognize presence in the here and now. Practicing Dharma allows us to have an easier life, solve the problems we face, and increase our happiness every day. The second benefit of practicing the Buddha's teachings is having a bright future. That future may be, or tomorrow, or in this life, or many later lives (see chapter Karma and results). The third benefit of practicing the Buddha's teachings is liberation from samsara. That is the realm of ultimate happiness, true and wonderful, called Nirvana (see part 3). All these benefits we can gain, if we practice the Guru's teachings thoroughly. The Dharma Is the Method, Not the Doctrine This point makes a very important distinction between the teachings of Buddhism and the teachings of other religions. Other religions have spoken of doctrines as beliefs or creeds, which do not lead to immediate confirmation (or verifiable presumption, but must be accepted by faith). The Buddha taught methods that we can apply to our personal lives, come to see immediately the results of practice here and now. Indeed, the entire teaching of Buddhism is a treasure trove of flexible methods suitable for different times, places, and most importantly, suitable for different capacities of people. Thus, the Buddha's teachings are skillful methods, or means, or rather, the Buddha's teachings are not teachings and are not outside: a. Placed on an equal footing, or b. Come to see. The Buddha's teachings are based on equality, that is, based on the enlightened experience achieved by the ascetic Gotama during his enlightenment or awakening, all sentient beings can become enlightened just like him (Buddha). is a title, not a name). Come to see, That is to say, all the teachings of the Buddha are aimed at making anyone who, by practicing, can attain enlightenment, Nirvana, real happiness and peace like the Buddha did. attested. What do Buddhists believe in? They have faith in the three jewels that are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Holy Sangha (the Buddha's disciples are on the path to enlightenment). When going to temples, as in Thailand, Buddhists recite sutras in ancient Pāli, the language used by the Buddha to preach the Dharma, either in prose, or in verse, to pay respects. and praise the three jewels. On such occasions, they voluntarily comply, in order to learn and realize internally the meaning of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (the Buddha, his teachings, and his congregation). By becoming a Buddhist one has found refuge or guidance from the three jewels, for they see here symbols of a supreme and fearless truth. Reverence to the Gurus We will examine what the meaning of the three jewels is in this and subsequent chapters. In addressing this matter, Buddhists must also exercise a common sense of reverence for spiritual masters, whether they are monastics or laypeople. For the Guru is a good friend; they give us precious teachings often based on hard and victorious realization by themselves; they show us what is the main path to liberation. The gesture of reverence for the Guru (who let his disciples worship in this day and age is the Buddha) and the image of enlightenment in himself humbly entered the mind; therefore, not a single virtue, no matter how small or a spiritual advancement, is uncreated. In Buddhist psychology, it is easy to see that not only does the mind affect the body, but the behavior of the body also affects the soul, they are closely related. Therefore, care is taken in this act of bowing, which is the beauty to be achieved, and the gesture of remembrance of the mind to follow. These three prostrations are usually to pay respect to the Supreme Being, His path to enlightenment. Those who have practiced this path who gain victory, are free from the dirt of the mind, and have wisdom are called enlightened ones. The successful practice of the Dharma, which is particularly oriented towards meditation and wisdom, is highly dependent on the instructor, This person's experience must be better than ours. The types of Buddhist meditations undertaken on their own without the guidance of a Guru will take a long time, on the contrary, it is more beneficial to have a Guru to guide them. Thus, the guru will receive great respect, if they have both broad understanding and deep spiritual life, they can be of more help to those who study and practice with them. The Supreme Offering at the Buddha Temple In the subject of reverence it may be more beneficial to know the meaning of making reverent offerings to the Buddha, for that is to say, Buddhism does not have to maintain something impersonal. meaning, or if such practice is found, then the teachings of the Buddha are impractical. The three most common offerings are incense, flowers and light (lamp). when these are offered creates a better opportunity for meditation. While lighting a candle or lamp we think: May I become enlightened and thus I can help others to become enlightened. From that lamp, incense sticks (usually three) are lit with the prayer: In the framework of attaining that enlightenment, may the fragrance of your virtue be spread to all sentient beings like a fragrance. This fragrance radiates in all directions. Then the flowers are offered between clasped hands, thinking: This life is short enough for the flowers to be fresh and beautiful today, but tomorrow they will wither and stink, also like this body of mine. So in this life, life is always changing and impermanent, Buddhists know that, need to make efforts to preserve, raise your level of pure virtue and take one more step on the path to enlightenment. Buddhists also sometimes offer food and water in front of the Buddha statue, of course they do not think that the Master will use such things, but out of faith, many Buddhists themselves will not use these things. food until the best of them is offered first to the Buddha. Because the Buddha is the supreme being among human beings, worthy of receiving offerings and making offerings is a method of education for Buddhists, to share what is good with others. The three offerings are directly related to the three jewels: Flowers, especially lotuses, represent the Buddha. For the lotus flower grows out of the mud and stinks, grows in the filth without pollution. Not even a drop of water remains on the lotus leaf. The Buddha was a Master in a world full of desires, but he was beyond desires. He is in this world but not of this world even the slightest lust does not affect His mind. This is the symbolic nature of the lotus flower. Other flowers are beautiful, reminding the devotee of the good and bright qualities of the Buddha's personality. The lighted lamp offered in this case symbolizes the teaching that illuminates all the dark places of the mind, and brings enlightenment to replace ignorance. In this respect, the dignity of the World-Honored Ones had to be expressed by the incense, for the moral perfection pervaded all of His actions, whether in the heart, in the good words or the words. by body. Having presented a passage on the meaning of Buddhist reverence, It is now necessary to describe in some detail the meaning of each throne separately. However, in the beginning it should be emphasized that the three jewels are closely related, practice and realization cannot be separated. Thus, there can be no true Dharma and Sangha until a Buddha appears in this world. The continuation of the Dharma depends on the propagation of the Sangha and it persists as long as the Sangha continues to practice and realize the Dharma. It is certainly impossible to say why the Buddha was dependent on the Dharma. Because whether the Buddhas appear in the world or not, the Dharma is always the truth. Dharma is often described as having no time, no time because it has first become a truth (as in the case of revealed religions), nor can there be a time in the future when it is no longer a truth. As long as there are sentient beings, the teaching should contain the truth, it is an experience of life (nothing to do with empty theories or dogmas). Although it is a truth, it may be temporarily forgotten in the midst of a period of respite, the realization of those who voluntarily dedicate their lives to realizing the path of liberation. is a truth and awaits rediscovery. He who discovers this inherent wisdom in his fullness lucidly, is called an enlightened being - the Buddha. A spiritual attainment that transcends all ordinary human thinking. Thus, it is easy to understand, The teachings of the later Buddhist sages personified the essence of the Dharma as perfect wisdom, which spoke of the Dharma as the mother of the Buddhas. Buddha Bao Who is Buddha? To answer this question it is not enough to mention just one life, because in order to become a Buddha, accumulated merit and liberating wisdom have to develop continuously over many past lives (see Chapter Reincarnation). first birth). It was really necessary to have such a long period of time. The qualities necessary to achieve ultimate enlightenment are called the perfections, while complete detachment is the essential basis that can reduce the practice time for this life. This is to be found in vast purification, wisdom and compassion, these are the characteristics of enlightenment to the extent that allow us to speak of this forerunner life (see perfection for some of the Buddha's deeds), and provide a diagram of the famous story over a long period of time concerned with the details of the great lives of the Buddhas, finally Gotama appeared in this world. The Life of Gotama The boy who became Buddha Gotama was born into the Sakya clan, in a small kingdom, present-day Nepal Terai. His father was a ruler selected from the Sakya clan, or King Tinh San (Raja King). His mother is Queen Maha Basà-ba-de (Mahamaya devi). History records that, when he was born in Lumbini, many unusual events happened, foretelling this boy was a very extraordinary person. All the prophets were invited by his father, including one who predicted that Prince Siddhattha could have two careers: either becoming the emperor of the whole world. , ruling the vast vassal states with a solid legal foundation; either renouncing family life, meditating alone, and attaining supreme enlightenment (Supreme Enlightenment), he showed countless other sentient beings a path to their peace and happiness. That was the prophecy of the prophet. However, his father (because he was a class of martial generals), preferred the first career, the king did not approve of the second career; Tinh San tried to find all kinds of ways to make the young Prince forget his escapist thoughts. As the prince grew up, he received an excellent education and proved to be an outstandingly intelligent student. In addition to studying theoretical subjects, he was fully trained in all the military arts worthy of becoming a great emperor. During this time, those around him noticed that he was not very interested in the things the world valued so highly and that he was often seen sitting alone very solemnly, contemplating life. The king's advisers quickly noticed this and reported to the king the thoughtful gestures of the young prince. So the king decided to let Prince Siddhartha play in three castles set up in three parks, one for each season: the dry season, the rainy season and the cold season. In particular, he never saw sick people, old people, zombies (dead bodies), or wandering monks, because it was predicted that if he saw such things, then it would be the cause of his abandonment of his family life. When the prince reached adulthood, his father arranged a marriage between him and Yasodhara (Yasodhara), a beautiful princess of the Shakyamuni royal family. Then, at the behest of his father, Siddhartha lived in luxury and splendor. His castles resound with melodious songs, performed by beautiful singers. Soft music, resounding in His rooms and following Him to the parks. His rooms were built with magnificent architecture with the most expensive materials, and only those close to and noble among mankind were allowed to enter. He eats excellent food, lives with his beautiful wife, when he says something, it is done right away so that he can be satisfied with worldly pleasures. But there was an event that happened beyond the king's plan, which was really hard to predict. Because the real crown prince is a Bodhisatta, a person whose past lives have dedicated himself to goals, the thought that aims for that purpose is supreme enlightenment. Such a person cannot be tempted to accept the ordinary pleasures of the world, the kind of sensual pleasures. So, one day (when he was almost 30 years old), Prince Siddhartha asked his father to show him his future kingdom, which he had never seen except the flower gardens in the palace. in everyday life. At that time, His father agreed and ordered to hurry up and clean up the city. The ministers ordered by the king, for whatever reason, did not let the Prince see old people, or sick people, or zombies, or the wanderer. Even so, the scenes that the king considered terrifying appeared before Prince Siddhartha's eyes. He understood: “Even though I am healthy today, this body can be sick; even though we are young and strong today, this body will soon become weak with the chain of old age; Even though I am alive today, this body will surely go to death.” And, seeing an ascetic ascetic, the prince pondered: "Perhaps that way of life can help us understand these pressing problems." Prince Siddhartha was deeply moved by the scenes, and that evoked in his mind. The prince immediately ordered the entertainment to be canceled and returned to his castle. All the dancers, servants, and beauties of His castle, nothing can shake the fervent anxiety of wanting to leave the world to attain enlightenment. Not long after that, Princess Dadu-dala gave birth to a baby boy, and when the prince was informed of the news, he exclaimed: Another bondage has come to me. And so the boy was named Lahula (Rahula means bondage). Why did the crown prince make such a statement? For He was once bound by royal rites and rituals, luxuries surrounded Him, a wife who loved Him, many servants serving Him; a son will be another rope to bind Him, by which the facts which He has perceived to be false and false. That very day, when night fell, he decided to be free from all these bonds, in order to find the way to liberation, he would make diligent efforts to find the causes of birth, old age, sickness, death, which he has clearly seen, is the fate of all sentient beings. That night, After a brief farewell glance with his beloved sleeping wife and child, he mounted the horse Kien Trac (Kanthaka), with his charioteer, Shanna (Channa), into the wild, sprawling forest. across the plains along the Ganges (Gangetic). It was his last ride as a crown prince on horseback. Going to a deserted forest, far from the territory of the Sakiya family, he dismounted, cut his long hair, handed over to Sanac his luxurious hat and robe, then put on a golden robe. piece by piece, which Easterners see as a symbol of a mendicant traveling without a family. He took a bowl to collect food offerings. He told Sana to return to the palace and inform King Tinh San of what had happened. The crown prince was greatly loved because of his benevolence and respect for others. Therefore, many people cried and mourned when he left, his horse Kien Trac was heartbroken and died soon after, because it had to leave the crown prince. The monk Gotama, now as it should be called, walked the lonely path alone to find the Guru, who would show him a path to liberation. Even though he studied with the two masters and practiced the rather high levels of meditation they had attained, he was still not satisfied. The answers to the questions he is seeking about the world in terms of birth and death are not clear. It seems that there is something beyond contemplation meditation, and so the monk Gotama needs to adopt a method as common as a religious discipline in India, discipline of extreme asceticism. In this extreme effort to attain enlightenment, he joined five ascetic monks, who saw him as their guru, and who waited until he attained true enlightenment. by His austerities, He will give it back to them. In temples in Thailand, they often hang pictures that reflect the spirit of the Indians who rely on the teacher. That picture has the image of five ascetic monks who are in trouble, while Gotama shows his diligence in meditation with the duties of a teacher. He tried to practice such austerities for six years, living in the terrifying wilderness among the charnel grounds, or in filthy places; He gave up bathing and not wearing clothes; He lives burned by the blazing summer sun in broad daylight, cold in the jungle on winter nights. He lived on little food, systematically starved himself, so that his body was so beautiful, that at one point had to decay to only skin and bones. He lived like this to teach us that those who aim for the highest enlightenment need to be willing to sacrifice everything. To attain supreme supreme enlightenment, we need to practice renunciation of appearances, renunciation of physical comforts. But He saw that if the body suffers, the mind cannot be at peace. He asserted that the lack of renunciation of inner desires is the root of afflictions. He realized that physical health was necessary for successful meditation, so that defilements could be treated. With this decision, the five ascetic monks who had followed him in an ascetic life immediately left, called him a retarded person, because he did not continue to practice asceticism as before. He used a bowl of porridge, his health gradually recovered, he went to the famous Bodhi Tree, which is now called the Bodh Gaya (Buddha Gaya). It is the full moon night of the month of Visakha (usually late April or within May). Gotama, a bodhisattva about to make the greatest discovery, sat on a grass mattress under this Bodhi tree. He sat in the posture where countless Indian sages have meditated, with his back straight, legs crossed, and hands resting on his calves (many images of Buddha in this position have been found). found in Thailand). When approaching the highest mental effort, first pacify the mind by penetrating the levels of concentration (Jhana means meditation), with an active mind, He endeavored to pierce the darkness of ignorance, and understand the mysteries of life. Before this great possible event, the Bodhisatta resisted the demon's attack, because the demon, fearing that Gotama might escape the world of samsara, decided to hinder him. by all means, within its power. This scene is often seen on the walls of temples in Thailand, sculpting a group of demons, animals and monsters attacking with full escorts; Far above them, Gotama sat on a high pedestal with a serene expression on his face. Before Him, young female ghosts were dancing, trying to tempt Him with graceful poses. Above is the Bodhi tree, which represents the wisdom that pervades him. Obviously it's just a representation, It is through this popular imagination that what happened is exactly what happened. The devil and his army are all habits, tendencies, results of past actions, experienced in an unspeakable life, a life that forces us to have certain visions, and certain methods of doing what has to be done. Gotama, having lived through many lives increasing the perfection of perfection, today seeks not only to renounce but also to completely uproot the remaining subtle inclinations and wrong views and negative actions, but also to be liberated from the bondage of mundane (relative) goodness. Having to do good is part of our virtue, weakening evil, we must finally break free of the bondage to the good, in order to be fully enlightened beyond all bondage. There is no question, when He faces turmoil, He sought to overcome the bondage of human instinct to enter the unfettered transcendence. The gathering of all the forces from the past that remained could not stop Him. With an undiminished strength, he rejects all temptations of lust, he eliminates the fear-induced wavering caused by old karma, anger, anger, or jealousy, which cannot arise in the mind. His mind. Then with a mind that is calm, peaceful and crystal clear, he continues to attain the three insights: The first is the knowledge of past lives. This wisdom has become clear to Him. What a man He was, by a name like this or that, living here or there. From the present life, his memory is not limited by the karmic dictates of previous births and deaths, He went back to the last life (when he was a deity named Setaketu), a life on this earth, before the life of Crown Prince Tu-dai-noa (the story of the total renunciation of the Thai monarch) This prince is known and loved by many Thai people). Going back three lifetimes, four lives, ten lives, twenty lives, one hundred lives, one thousand lives, one hundred thousand lives, through those lives he vividly recalled an event in the past. , when he was a young hermit named Thien Tue, he knelt before the Buddha Burning Light and made a vow: "May one day I also become a fully enlightened being, full of all authority. as powerful as He is!” And continuing to go back and forth to the past great eons of rising and falling of the universe, endless lives opened up before His eyes for His observation. Later that night, He gave the second proof, see that the arising and passing away of beings depend on their volitional actions. Although Venerable Gotama was not yet a Buddha, he was able to perceive that depending on how good or bad a living being's kamma has been, they will be reborn in the future. He saw how a being's past karmas are influencing his present psychological outlook, how the way of thinking he chooses now will in turn affect the future. The spider web of relation between the three times, then became very clear, and he saw beings ascending according to their actions or falling to lower positions when they engaged in unwholesome deeds. It is contemplation into the tangled webs of relationships, why they are related, it is because of the result of his actions that that being is put in bondage. The night continued. All is silent, almost every sentient being, small or low, knows that a victory over ignorance is about to be achieved by a man, whose fame will resound through the centuries. is the venerable Gotama, the omniscient one, a saint of the Shakyamuni family. Before great and transcendent enlightenment can be announced, the prison of ignorance needs to be broken. Then by infinite transcendental insight, the mind turns to the problem and will understand the problem, the ability to understand nothing can be blinded, nothing can be limited. Such a contemplation is called the destruction of the taints, because these taints have pervaded one's own self, flowing in and polluting all thoughts and conceptions. Gonorrhea or the first is lust, always liking what is (suitable for it), and rejecting what is opposite. This can be summed up as the normal course of life for many people, and such a lifestyle is indeed a polluted lifestyle. The second is the taint of continuity of existence: always craving for this life or another, the desire to continue forever, of course, not the desire for the experience of running after the sufferings of birth. , old age, illness, death or the unsatisfactory nature of all sensory pleasures. Gonorrhea or the third is gonorrhea or of the basis of ignorance, or rather, a misunderstanding, or bias because of the confusing way of interpreting life due to the presence of ignorance in the mind. mind. In the early morning, dawn has just appeared, fresh and fresh, like no other summer morning, humanity sees the beginning of a new age, the enlightened being spiritually awakened and illuminating with an inner confirmation of this very experience of truth, has appeared in the world. Looking at the world with the eyes of wisdom, he saw that he was indeed superior to all, that there was no guru higher than himself that he could respect, and he decided to live "respecting the true dharma as his guru". me." Gotama, a bodhisattva, a person who lived a hermit life, formerly a prince sat under the Bodhi tree, now Gotama an enlightened being has risen from his seat, his mind free from all obstacles and limitations. Legend has it that all creatures on that morning were very joyful, lived in peace, harmony, with a joy pervading the universe. The transcendental wisdom was so perfectly developed, he found it impossible to believe that anyone could penetrate the truth he had discovered. But that impossibility was abandoned by him, when he looked at the world with his divine eye and saw beings floating on the waves of lust, in the storm of existence. Seeing this pitiful scene, great compassion arose like a lotus blossoming in his mind; however, he found that there were indeed a few people with a little dust in their eyes, who could understand. He first decided to give a lecture on meditation to his elderly teacher, but he had just passed away. Then he thought of his five former companions, and seeing them living in the Deer Park outside Benares, he went there. On the way, he met a naked wanderer named Upaka, attracted by the Buddha's beautiful face and elegant gestures. The wanderer asked him, who was his guru, and whose teachings he had studied. The first words of an enlightened being (according to legend), he boldly declared his wisdom, with fearlessness like the roar of a lion, the enlightened one replied with the following verses: “I am the all-knowing, the all-winner. Amidst all dharmas, I live unpolluted, Abandoning all, freed from death by craving. I know myself, who can be considered (as my teacher)? There is no teacher here for me. For such a person as I cannot find, In the world with all the gods, There is no one like me. In this world, I am truly worthy, A fully enlightened, unique One. A true master is none other than, I cease to thirst and become cold. To turn the wheel of dharma, I went to Kāsi, and there I struck the drum of immortality. Today's world is becoming blind, The true victors, they, like me, Destroy all defilements, have triumphed, With me all evil must fail, And thus, Upaka, I am winner." (See Middle length saying 1, 171) Even so, Upaka was still unwilling to accept his teachings, and then bid him farewell, while the Buddha was on his leisurely walk to the city of Kāsi in Bala - complain. Here the Buddha gave his first sermon, the famous turning of the wheel of Dharma. Those five hermits became the first five Buddhist monks, all attained stream-entry, while listening to the Buddha's teaching, and later became arahants. Then, began a long life teaching and organizing (church) in the Ganges valley. Gotama attained enlightenment at the age of 35 and 45 years later, he announced the Dharma to all who wished to hear it. He instructed his enlightened disciples to go everywhere and propagate the true dharma "for the welfare of the world, for the happiness of gods and humans". The disciples and the Buddha taught and gave the Dharma to kings and gypsy girls, to Brahmins and beggars, to the high and the lowly, alike, according to their understanding. The Sangha was established and the precepts were gradually established to govern internally. Likewise, a nunnery was founded at the request of Gotama's mother, Mahāpajāpati, who wished to renounce, living without family with many other women of the Sakiya clan. Both these churches have been and are open to all who wish to devote all their energies to the study and practice of Buddhism. There has never been and there has never been (never) discrimination of class, race or color in connection with membership or advancement in this church. At the age of 80, Gotama felt that his physical body was failing, and would soon be destroyed. Gathering his disciples, he informed them that in three months he would enter Nirvana, renouncing the world. To accomplish this, he went to Kusinara with a number of great disciples, and, after making preparations for his parinirvana, the disciples surrounded him, including lay followers. Among these, those who are Arahants, who have experienced realization, do not weep, because they know very well that all conditioned things, even the physical body of the Buddha, are impermanent and subject to destruction. Those monks and lay people who had not yet attained Sainthood wept bitterly, for for them the most beloved, noble, compassionate and wise Teacher would soon die, abandon them, they will see Him no more. However, the Buddha encouraged them before entering Nirvana through two issues: "When I no longer exist in this world, you should not think that you are no longer a Teacher, take the righteous path. Dharma to be your guru". It was his last words, as he lay peacefully between two tala trees in full bloom with fragrant flowers, that were the most precious teaching to his disciples. The Blessed One said: "Listen, monks, I advise you: All synthetic dharmas are inescapably disintegrating, so with mindfulness, make efforts!" Then he lay on his right hand, resting in mindfulness, the fragrant flowers of the two tala trees fell on him, his close disciples surrounded him among gods and men in silence. He went through different levels of meditation and entered Nirvana, leaving nothing behind. The disciples performed the cremation ceremony of his body, the stupa honoring the relics was built in many places. The Dharma continued to be propagated, which was thoroughly encouraged by King Asoka, the famous Buddhist Emperor. Buddhism existed for 1,700 years in the land of its birth, and spread to Ceylon, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, Central Asian countries, China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Siberia, Indonesia. The messengers spread Buddhism as far as Alexandria, Greece and Cyprus in the West, Central America in the East, these disjointed groups could not develop for long. Buddhism in India was eventually crushed by the brutal aggression of Islam, with guns and spears. Wherever the Dharma is transmitted, there is a beautiful culture that symbolizes great art arises, manifesting beyond the beliefs of the nation. The stupa of relics is a symbol of the special nature of Buddhism. In Thailand, clear examples of this symbolism can be found throughout the country, especially at Nakorn Pathom. Taking refuge in the Buddha Before we move on to a new topic, the issue of returning to the Buddha's refuge needs to be examined a little more closely. There are indeed some Buddhists who are taking refuge in the memory of their Guru, who passed away more than 2,500 years ago. Others believe that Gotama Buddha has not yet entered Nirvana, he went to a realm beyond words, is still alive, so he can be a refuge. People with deep understanding, they know that the attainment of what the Buddha has achieved, is open to all who make a personal vow to make an effort to practice according to the Buddha's teachings. The minds of many are able to find beneath the age-accumulated grime, a pearl of wisdom. It is here that one can find the safest refuge. The Buddha once said: "Do not seek refuge outside". Thus, the last Buddha to appear in the universe was Gotama, who taught his disciples, both monastics and lay people, must become as he attained, must cultivate virtue in their lives, and practice according to his teachings, on the basis of a supreme enlightenment. That enlightenment was open to everyone, the Master declared: One must observe the scriptures, one must attain profound meditation, one must cut off self-delusion and awaken glorious enlightenment. The Buddhas did not place their disciples on a low level (only going to heaven) and themselves at the top of the unattainable ultimate, but often encouraged them by many skillful means to attain it. to what They have achieved, which is something practical, for every wise man to experience for himself. Dharma Jewels and Returning to the True Dharma Relying on the Dharma can also be viewed equally in other respects. Its most canonical form is the Dharma, which is considered a Buddhist scripture. The Buddhist scriptures consist of three collections: the precepts of the Sangha community (the Vinaya), the discourses of the Buddha and his disciples (the Canon), and the psychoanalytic works (the Abhidhamma Canon). ). This sutra is found in three great collections in different languages: Pāli - the language spoken in northern India at the time of the Buddha. Chinese and Tibetan, these two canon are very rich, the work has not been translated into Western languages, while today's Pāli texts have been mostly translated into English, thanks to the Pali Text Society in London. . From the Sanskrit canon, Chinese and Tibetan translations were formed, but the Sanskrit canon has been largely lost, although a number of separate Buddhist works have been preserved. Besides the main Buddhist terminology in this language, there are a huge number of texts written to comment, comment, guide the practice accordingly and go on to describe quite a bit of variation. of meditation methods. This creative writing, which deals with practice and shows the way to others that they too can practice, is found in the common language of the countries where the Dharma is applied. especially in Thailand. While some people rely on the Dharma as in the sutras, out of respect for this sutra, neither recommend it nor know what it contains, that attitude is indeed a departure from the right view of the Buddha. Buddhism. True reliance on the dharma is accepted as long as it is based on practice and realization. In other words, the true Dharma is also the Buddha, True refuge must be found within and not by outward symbolism, although symbols can be a very helpful aid to true refuge. If we want to know what the teachings of Buddhism are, it is essential to know what is necessary to go beyond this point, and to examine what is the true dharma contained in the entire Buddhist canon. As a result, readers will gain some necessary knowledge about dharmapalas so that each person can realize himself or herself. Where does Suffering and Happiness start from? This point has been mentioned, the Buddha taught to those who want to listen, according to their ability to understand. This is important to note, as it relates to a very special power of a guru, whose skillful means will be discussed in the third part of this book. When we study the Buddhist teachings through the original canon, we can assume that there are many contradictions, except for this skillful means which is included in the text. It should be clearly understood that it made all the difference to the type of teaching mentioned, whether it was explained to a monk, or to a lay person, who was enthusiastic about the teachings of the Buddha. , or for a non-believer, an intelligent person without faith, or for a fanatic Brahmin, or for someone fervently wishing to experience ultimate liberation (Nirvana), or for others, with their souls placed above the community with Brahma, or able to be reborn in some lower heaven, or as an ordinary person. These last two relations are particularly important, namely the teachings concerning ultimate liberation, or the lower end of being reborn as a human, or of being in another heaven, for here showing a fundamentally different attitude toward life, towards the practice of the Buddha's teachings, or practice the right dharma, and the proper way to eliminate suffering. The path is steep and can be compared with a straight attack on the mountain leading up the cliff and steep, requiring great energy, concentration. It is the path to liberation or Nirvana in this very life, which must be renounced (usually one has to become a bhikkhu, or a bhikkhuni, because the state of this life is suitable for him. effort), a well-balanced personality is needed, and ultimately, most important of all, a good Guru is required. This upside down path can be found in the efforts of some Theravada monks, living in the jungle, in the monasteries, and this path has special emphasis on Tibetan Tantra. The second path is a more relaxed path to liberation. It is the easiest way to get up the mountain without worrying about how long it will take to reach the top. This path is generally accepted by people, including the majority of lay Buddhists especially those who cannot attain Nirvana in the present life, but by the merit they have created, in addition to creating happiness for themselves. I also guarantee that happiness will also follow them in the next life. From there, they hope to be able to continue the unfinished business in this life. Therefore, in the next paragraph, we need to keep in mind what has been said in these two aspects. Of course, these two aspects are not completely separate from each other, because bhikkhus and bhikkhunis focus on living according to the right dharma moment by moment, does not give up meritorious deeds, nor is it correct to say that the lay person doing merit is not related to the path to liberation. Because the Buddha taught this path in different ways, depending on the ability of each individual, how it needs to be practiced, and according to the capacity of each person's personality. Keeping this in mind, we can learn about the starting point of the Dharma. We have seen that all religions have some starting point, in many cases this starting point is a type of belief that is specially formulated to become a faith. It is clearly stated at the beginning of this book that the Buddha's teaching has no creeds, nor faith to believe, Buddhism has a very clear direction, and indeed the starting point of Buddhism is quite different. other religions. Start, Buddhism does not require the Buddhists to believe, but from the common experience of all life forms, for in man the strengthening of the senses is sharp from the experience of a suffering. Perceiving things as something is not right, that situation is forever changing, for the circumstances experienced through this physical body, do not bring about permanent peace but only bring some kind of defeat. The sickness of life is not difficult to perceive in the Buddha's teachings, it is called dukkha (the closest English equivalent can cover the wide range of this main Pāli noun, Sanskrit meaning Sanskrit. is unsatisfactory, if translated as suffering, it is not very accurate. Since its form and translation are more clumsy, in this chapter dukkha is used more often). We need to examine its scope briefly, in order to give some idea of ​​what the Buddha's teaching is, that is, a medicine specially formulated for this disease. The Buddha declared: Birth is suffering. Birth is the entire life process from conception to birth. People are always conscious of suffering while a mother gives birth. But so far, few seem to think that the child suffers too. Indeed, the child experiences more suffering than the mother. During the whole process of such agonizing birth, if the child encounters some erroneous event, as modern psychology has discovered, a deep psychological scar, a kind of wound can be imprinted. imprinted on the child's mind. The Buddha stated long ago, and from the memory of his endless birth, that birth is such a terrible experience that many would like to forget it. There is another meaning to birth, birth is indeed suffering, because in the Buddha's teachings, birth and death are different stages of life from moment to moment. As in the body, new cells are generated to replace old cells that have withered, just as in the mind, new objects are formed, exist, and destroy. This flux of changes flows day and night and continues and continues, if it is carefully examined (with insight) it will reveal a disease experienced insecurities, insecurities, and result in long-term dissatisfaction. In a moment the experienced fact arises, comes into being, and passes away, this is the meaning of birth and death that is understood practically through the aid of meditation and profound insight. Aging is suffering, this is perhaps the most obvious. falling teeth, our beautiful smooth hair becomes thin and white, our stomach refuses to digest our favorite foods, our joints aching and creaking, our muscles become weak; Worse than this physical illness is manifesting as weakness or difficulty hearing. Pages and pages can be filled with them. Worst of all is the deterioration of the mind's ability to understand or react intelligently, clinging to custom and growing prejudice, unwillingness to look ahead (where death awaits). ), but looking back, fondly reminiscing about the false past. Finally, we can politely call this softening of the mind the second infancy, and call it senility. Not all living things, not all people will be affected by these conditions, but growing old will certainly bring experience for some people, experience just boring. Illness is suffering. Again, not all will be affected by illness in life, although it is a common, obvious problem. Look at this body, how troublesome! How wondrous! It's been working fine for five minutes, let alone 80 years. A small way, or small cells moving somewhere wrong, going out of rhythm, how much suffering can happen! Again, most people don't want to think about this, suffering even more when they are forced to face it. To believable and commonplace of this disease, we need only look inside a hospital, or talk to doctors, nurses, or open a medical book. The diseases that we can read about are so numerous that it is insignificant for the terrible condition for which science has not yet been able to discover the causes. The psychological ailments of very strong origin of delusion mixed with greed and hatred are also included here. Death is suffering. Very few people are prepared to die. They want to live forever, which modern science can prove. The desire for this life, and the desire to live forever, can be tempered, if we believe as in the Far East many people have assumed that this life is one lifetime of a long series. More lives are available to those who are attached to them (see chapter I - Reincarnation), and the work that has already begun in this life does not need to be rushed to its end, but can be continue in subsequent reincarnations. Of course, The actual suffering of death is different, not everyone experiences physical pain. But there is another kind of suffering that is the terrible pressure that weighs on our minds when our bodies are destroyed, "against the will". This is really a proof that the body doesn't belong to us because if it belongs to us we can do what we want with it, but when we die, even though we want to continue living, it still goes away. and die - nothing can stop it from dying. If we die unprepared, then when the body dies, it will experience a fear of insecurity, which is the result of a wrong identification: this body is ours. Following the Buddha's statement about suffering, a number of other nouns were added above, such as: "Sorrow, compassion, suffering, grief, all suffering". These are so obvious, there's no need to say more about them. The Buddha spoke much of these facts only to show that why people tend to turn a blind eye to these matters, acting as blind eyes and deaf ears, when manifestations foretell them of these dangers of life in themselves. Unfortunately, the ostrich's attitude does not deny the source of suffering. But to the wise Buddhist, all these inner and outer experiences are seen as "angels," that is, this experience is a sign in their favor for Dharma practice. The Buddha continued: "To be associated with what we do not like is suffering." These two events are, for most people, constant companions in their lives. It seems that this can never be exactly right, we can get what we want, or lack what we don't like. Here the Buddha shows us that, chasing after likes and dislikes is endless, we will not be able to experience, or feel, true happiness. What we all feel is overwhelming frustration, intense tension at the opposite extremes of greed and hatred. No matter how hard we rummage through all possible situations, we can never find any solid case where all dislikes people, circumstances, etc.) are excluded. All that is desirable is preserved, if we examine this fact carefully, there is always a fly or something else in the vial of the paste (i.e. we always come across something unsatisfactory). idea). Not finding what we want is suffering, it is an indescribable infatuation, assuming that, if all our desires are fulfilled, we will be happy. There are a few people who are in the position of people who can do what they want, like millionaires and entrepreneurs, but they know nothing about human happiness. People can get what they want materially, but what about their physical and psychological conditions? In the rest of humanity poorer than they are, millionaires cannot command us not to let sorrow, pain, sickness, old age, death, or sacrifice come near us. This way of experimenting cannot be controlled with a small pocket of money, or with a large one, only by training the mind. Again, it's a common experience for people who don't get what they want. Their desires are not satisfied, until they can get what they want, they find that they really don't experience any ultimate pleasure. The pleasure that comes from wanting is impermanent (one is no longer anxiously expecting what is not yet), in any case the object of desire is impermanent. Although desire has satisfaction, the object of desire is satisfied that Buddha likened to a person drinking salt water to satisfy thirst. The five aggregates are suffering. This aggregate shows how to analyze our whole individuality, namely form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. To all of these aggregates we have a strong attachment, because they have been grasped since we were first conceived. We have attached to the human aggregates as a result of our actions (see karma and results), and we identify ourselves not only with the physical but with all the other mental aggregates. Other sentient beings cling to the living aggregates, the aggregates that exist in the life of the gods, etc., always have a strong clinging to life, because we are too delusional to think that this body is us. and mine. This attachment extends to all other living beings, it is a fundamental error, a serious confusion, from which all our other afflictions arise. Let us take a simple example to demonstrate whether these aggregates cause suffering or not. When you've read this far, find a suitable place and sit quietly for an hour. Watch what happens; after five minutes, a fly lands on your face and you want to brush it off; after fifteen minutes your foot itch and you want to scratch; after twenty-five minutes your neck feels tired and you want to move. You can give up after about half an hour, when your joints start to hurt, or your legs go numb, or something similar. Since you have been active throughout the day, the body is in a state of flux, we avoid the suffering associated with it (we suffer another suffering instead). Or, if we have more subtle experience, when we are in a quiet place, decide to focus all of our attention for about half an hour. Then you will see how your mind wanders against your decisions. It is a more subtle suffering. Looking back at the Buddha, he could sit for seven days and not move, enjoying the absolute happiness that comes from practicing meditation. Nowadays there are also many Zen masters who have attained dharmadhatu while meditating, they do not see their body or other aggregates, the aggregates are not the cause of afflictions, because these sages have eliminated remove attachments and attachments from their minds. The suffering of the five aggregates calls for continuous suffering. But, we can hear readers objecting: there are so many beautiful and enjoyable things in life. There are indeed many beautiful and enjoyable things, in a relative and limited sense. In this regard, there are two facts to note: 1. Experiences can only be considered real, if we skim the surface of life, without examining it thoughtfully. For example when you like colors and landscapes, so beautiful! You would say, it's really just the surface. But when he looks at that beauty like that, he won't see the beauty in another aspect. All sentient beings who see beauty often pursue or become attached to that external beauty. But really, human life for 24 hours always struggles with many difficulties and sufferings, nothing is beautiful. 2. Pleasure that comes from appearances is only relative happiness because it depends on many other conditions. When enjoying a movie, depending on the electricity, the quality of the movie, the projector, the operator, the screen, the light, the eyes, the observed object, the perception, and many more can be mentioned in this. Because the film is limited, it begins at a certain time in a certain situation, and ends at a later time. The highest kind of pleasure in this life (no matter what kind we consider it), must first reach a culmination, then, according to our choice, must be continued in the sutras. our experience by a mistake The quality of the film, projector, operator, screen, lighting, eye, object of view, perception, and many more can be mentioned here. Because the film is limited, it begins at a certain time in a certain situation, and ends at a later time. The highest kind of pleasure in this life (no matter what kind we consider it), must first reach a culmination, then, according to our choice, must be continued in the sutras. our experience by a mistake The quality of the film, projector, operator, screen, lighting, eye, object of view, perception, and many more can be mentioned here. Because the film is limited, it begins at a certain time in a certain situation, and ends at a later time. The highest kind of pleasure in this life (no matter what kind we consider it), must first reach a culmination, then, according to our choice, must be continued in the sutras. our experience by a mistakeú lower, indeed if not by a painful reality. The Buddha showed that what is impermanent is suffering. That is to say that human pleasures are suffering, because it is impermanent and does not bring an ultimate satisfaction, while it increases one's craving. There is no need to think about it much, which is quite true, because the Buddha had clear reasons for giving suffering a prominent place in his teachings. First, all sentient beings suffer without exception, which is true for all times and places. Second, everyone has to experience suffering. It is a dangerous mistake if we try to forget or ignore it, as many people do. For example, the happy life of people living in a peaceful, nice society, They don't like to talk about death frankly. When the topic of death was brought up, everyone seemed to keep quiet and become annoyed, then hastily apologize to get out of this unpleasant place. But in the Buddhist concept, death and illness are topics that are often discussed clearly and openly, so that people can see them authentically in life without trying to run away from it. Third, all sentient beings seek pleasure and avoid suffering. Since then, people have buried their heads in their own small and selfish world. Although the effort is often in vain, people still try to arrange the way they desire. Fourth, this leads to an intensification of the sense of self, making many other things mine, which is contrary to the path to true happiness. The five aggregates do not contain a self (soul, ego, or self, etc.), and happiness comes from this insight. Fifth, we have to live in a world with many other people, to be mindful of: How can they be happy? We should never do this, as long as the thoughts about me, mine and the resulting nuisance are still strong in the mind. Sixth, all this suffering is actually unnecessary, there is no need to experience suffering, if we want to give up craving and ignorance. And so, the magnitude of the spirit is strengthened by the infinite past life (see rebirth), which is continuously enhanced in the present by our other desires. Thus, the Buddha presented a way to go straight to the depths of the human mind. A further path leads to purification by keeping the precepts, to peace of mind by practicing meditation, completely free from all bondage such as ignorance and craving through insight. The Buddha taught about this: Even though the rain pours down gold and silver, Sensual pleasure is not enough Pleasure at the root of suffering. The wise understand. (Dhammapada, 186) Righteous path, superior Dharma, the Four Noble Truths is wondrous Dharma, the supreme Dharma, the supreme Dharma eye, the super group. The only path of pure knowledge is only this way, If people follow this path, Mara will be confused. Walk on the right path Avoid all pain I show you this way Remove all thorns. Make every effort to be diligent, Tathagata, the guide Who practices meditation well, escapes the cycle of demon kings. (Dhammapada, 273 – 6) The Master, out of compassion for sentient beings, taught the Dharma that emphasizes suffering, because it is the sure path for them to follow. The Masters have discovered for themselves how delusional they have been up to now. Therefore, The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, which show us the sequence of cause and effect in our own experience. When a person has greed, he will receive the fruit of suffering. When we give up the cause of greed, of course we attain the ultimate happiness - Nirvana. The Truth of Suffering (sometimes translated as dissatisfaction) [Suffering and its Origin] The Truth of the Origin of Suffering [Suffering and its Origin] The Truth of the Cessation of Suffering (Nirvana) Joy and the arising of joy] The truth about the path leading to the cessation of suffering (the middle path of practice) [Joy and the arising of joy] The teachings of the Four Noble Truths can be found simple and easy to learn, but many times we have many emotions that prevent us from realizing the true meaning of this teaching. Example: First: we are not aware of our state of complete dissatisfaction with life, so, we do not accept the path necessary to give up suffering. Second: we are already caught in the web of craving, so it's not enough to just accept it by reason, but we have to start cutting those ropes. Third: it seems so far away, if this impression is how we feel about Nibbāna, it shows us how much work we have to do to get there; Thus, after all, Nirvana is nowhere else but here and now. Fourth: ordinary people find practicing one dharma along the path at a time, for example giving, observing precepts, or meditating. As for the wise, with perfect insight, the comprehensive practice of the path is natural, without restriction or effort. These four truths constitute right view, then one who understands them intellectually clearly is called one with right view. That is, he does not allow the mind to wander into useless thinking situations, but confronts practical experience (suffering). Thus creating a renunciation of the cause (craving) by practicing the middle path to the cessation of suffering (Nirvana). There are many painful experiences in this world that can be easily relinquished, if we simply realize for ourselves that the actions have commensurate results. Karma and Karma Action or karma is what one does consciously with body, word, or thought in mind. Furthermore, it is good or evil according to will or unwholesome action. Evil here means lowering the human mind, or creating harm to other beings, so it is unwholesome. Good means actions that lead to the development of one's mind, or to the happiness of others, so it is wholesome. Unintentional actions are those associated with neither good nor evil. Usually Buddhists avoid using the words Good and Evil, preferring to refer to the kind of action that is good and unwholesome (skillful and unskillful), which we will begin with. Let's develop some of the above: Physical actions, speech, and thoughts are the mental actions that we pay attention here. Therefore, mental kamma is the basis for verbal kamma and bodily kamma. Because an act intentionally or unintentionally is very important in Buddhist practice. Decisive, intentional action, accompanied by volition (karma, kamma), which has the potential to produce a future result. Actions without intention or without mental factors will not bring about any future results. Let's take this example: suppose a mosquito lands on a person's arm, the person doesn't like such an insect, raises his hand and kills it. Such is a deliberate action, and potentially an outcome. But a person lies down and, without knowing it, has crushed a mosquito on his pillow, as if unintentionally, so his actions have no future results. Here, the so-called killing (mosquito) is applied to harmful action and also to other beneficial action. Thus, a person who intentionally reveres the Buddha may expect a result from his or her actions, while a child imitates the actions of an adult without knowing the meaning of those actions, because no doing those things intentionally, so can't wait for a result from there. As for the results one can expect: if unwholesome seeds are sown now, reaping the results of suffering will be expected in the future. On the contrary, good deeds sown will produce peaceful and happy results. Indeed, as Jesus said: "What one sows, that one also reaps." From the seed of the thorn tree we cannot expect a good harvest of apples. This is really important, the karma that begins in the present leads to our future happiness or suffering. A person who focuses only on collecting money for much and much, without caring about the suffering of others, in this very life, will develop miserliness in his mind, often reflected in his attitude. their adversaries. Another zealously engaged in religious service, also develop a mind, but the outward appearance reflects a particular anxiety. Thus we should always be aware of our mind, contemplating whether we are pursuing a matter of kusala or akusala. Therefore, the results of karma can be seen in this very life. A great deal of the difference between beings happens in this life in that way. The inequality (real and possible capacities) seen among humanity is too obvious to need further explanation. Humanity has rich and poor, wise and foolish, wise and foolish, and many other things. If the inequalities of humanity are so great, what can be said of inequality between animals? Karma and its effect through the three times: past, present and future, have been explained quite well in different ways. The results differ in time between the manifestation of karma to create karma and the results of karma. Some karma has immediate results, its connection immediately recognizable. Some other kammas bring results after a certain period of time, its relevance is more difficult to see. However, there are other kammas that do not bear fruit in this life, but bear fruit in the next, or in further lives. Indeed this kind of karma is the most difficult to know, unless by the practice of Meditation, through the power of memory of many past lives developed, there is no way for an ordinary person to know this fact. Since this fact is inexplicable to them, they regard it as a chance or chance occurrence, when all other explanations are powerless, it is seen as the will of God. Karma and results are not just dogma according to Buddhist teachings, it is practical and can be seen in people's lives (there is some limitation for others). Why does intentional action produce results? Because such action has a greater consumption of energy than action that occurs unintentionally. This power can be called will power, although this is not a Buddhist term. It's just a well-known term in the physical sciences, that power is used to produce some result. Because of such a consumption of willpower, a fruitful event is expected to occur after some time of implementation, subject to the absence or presence of conditions that help or delay the outcome. its. The formula used in place of cause and effect is that when X is present, Y arises, and if X is not present, Y does not arise. Karma is called that which perfumes the subconscious stream, that which leaves a mark or pattern in the mind, where habitual reaction, pattern of doing and particular inclinations are established. . It is the setting of conditioned events when they are removed from the past life to become deeply subconscious in the present life, in the present life they become the pattern for the future life. This life-stream of continuous events flows through three times: past actions govern present character and circumstances to a greater or lesser extent. If a person's past strongly influences their present life, their ability to choose in the present moment is limited; depending on their freedom from the domination of the past, their freedom of choice becomes greater. The sages always abide in Virtue, Concentration and Wisdom should be free from the domination of the past, although they may still have to experience some of the results of past kamma, but in the present choice Theirs is not restricted. However, most of us are influenced to a large or small degree in our choices, which is a fact to keep in mind, for present intentional actions will govern future lives. future. Thus, ethical responsibility is firmly established in the teachings of Buddhism, which practitioners need to know: “I am my master, I am the heir of karma, I was born. by karma, I am bound by karma and determined by karma. How good or bad karma I have created, I will have to inherit (receive the results) it. “Only I receive the results of my own making, no one else can take it for me, and I cannot give it to anyone else. I myself create evil karma I am infected with dirt I myself avoid evil karma I myself purify my body and mind I am purified by myself No one is purifying me. (Dhammapada, 165) Buddhists should note that this explanation cannot be viewed as original sin, a concept very foreign to Buddhist thought. A Buddhist breaks the precepts (see chapter II, precepts), they know that they will receive painful consequences according to their actions, so they need to take it back from a monk (if the monk broke his precepts, he had to purify himself through repentance, determination and continued purification), and then resolved to try to keep those precepts pure in the future. This person is no longer burdened with a burden of sin, Sin is seen as a very unwholesome psychological attitude that gives rise to future suffering. Once created karma cannot be canceled, evaded, or baptized by prayer or ritual belief. Acting skillful means - wholesome, or unskillful means - unwholesome, the result will be received sooner or later by its creator. Only the Buddha and his noble disciples have the ability to go beyond the bondage of karma. The karma that has been created, it will never be lost, even after an infinitely long time, when the conditions are fully converged, it will produce results. However, it is heavy karma that kills especially parents; wholesome kamma is the attainment of the four samadhis, wholesome and unwholesome have its limits. Because the action of the cause is limited, the effect of the action is also limited. Nothing can exist indefinitely, so karma has its limits. Whether sentient beings are in heaven or in hell, there are limitations, because they have not yet escaped the cycle of birth and death. Reincarnation We have discussed the existence of past lives leading up to the present life that a person can recall, if he or she trains his or her psychological abilities properly. The Buddha and many great sages in his tradition remembered many past lives, moreover, how karma began in one life, to come to fruition in another. This teaching is a continuation of life not only in Buddhism, but also accepted in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism. This teaching has a long history of strong and secret influence, it is not officially accepted in Islam (Sufism), Christianity, but it is known in the doctrine of Confucius and Lao Tzu. It is clear that the teaching of birth based on everyone's actions (karma) is a meaningful one. This teaching gives value to life, giving a sense of justice to the seemingly messy, unjust fact. If we want to know why people who do evil can be happy and rich, while those who do good complain about being oppressed in many ways, this is also answered by the teachings of karma and rebirth, as As has been said before, not all intentional actions have immediate results. Not only is the doctrine of rebirth valuable to anyone who wants to see justice in this life, it also has a practical application. When he gave teachings to those who accepted rebirth, the Buddha increased their faith, But for others who still doubt and ask questions, instead of asking them to accept the theory of reincarnation as the truth, the Buddha used the wager argument. In this approach, the Buddha focuses on the value of this teaching by emphasizing the practical benefit of the present moment. This benefit is twofold: on the one hand the past and the other in the future. Thus, assuming past lives are real and that our present suffering is the result of unwholesome actions in many past lives (here suffering cannot be found for unwholesome actions in this life). present life). Thus, suffering over a serious illness is more easily accepted, and the sufferer does not increase his bitter thinking: Why is this suffering happening to me? It is also a great encouragement to try to keep the precepts in the present, and develop the mind through meditation. Supposing I was tiredly absorbed in the wheel of rebirth for an eternity, continuing to do so, this would not be a karmic impulse to do something in this life. star? Again, if the future life were my destiny, I would indeed be an unprepared fool for that future. If a person can by some progress advance to higher states, life after life, then he can sit with his back comfortably. Indeed, the fate of an individual lies in their own hands. Whether reincarnation exists or not, nothing is lost, because living a holy life, even in the present, will not be criticized by others. Having seen enough suffering in this life, having understood its meaning, that event will prompt one to climb over the prison wall of samsara. Therefore, based on these practical grounds, we must accept that there is a past life, and also a future life. A continuation of life by an incarnate soul in a series of bodies, commonly known as reincarnation. In Buddhism, the teachings on this matter are fundamentally different in a few points. Here, we refer to it as rebirth. In other words, to become again (again-becoming), there are no words to describe it, but that is the energy in the Buddhist teachings. Everyone will agree that their bodies change from hour to hour, wear out all the time, and are being replaced. If we stop to think, we will find the truth of the mind too. That is, in our mind there are words, the image is always flowing non-stop. Therefore, it is easy for us to understand the impermanence of both mind and body clearly. What about the soul? Here, we must distinguish between the common conception of self perceived by all, regardless of their point of view, and the philosophies of theologians. They built a system to protect their sense of self, and to defend the religious creeds they took as fact. Both these naturalistic and fallacious views, established according to the classification of human characteristics, are included in the five aggregates. The inner feeling that we have a soul is the aggregate of feelings. The concept of the soul is the Aggregate of Actions. This aggregate is impermanent, so there is no basis for assuming the life of an individual or soul is unchanged. Such an assumption is rejected by the Buddha's teaching, and is seen only as empty argument, based on craving, but without basis, when discovered by transcendent wisdom. According to relative truth, the self exists: there is a continuum that progresses from day to day, this continuum between me and another identified by one name or another. In our opinion (the author) the self that existed when I was three years old, my image at that time clearly showed the face of a short and fat boy. The 30-year-old boy now looks almost like a different person, while the three-year-old boy and the 30-year-old are not completely different, but certainly not the same. Here we have another example to make this clear: the fact that X is present, the fact that Y arises. Depending on the existence of that three-year-old boy, the present 30-year-old was present. This process of dependence not only continues to arise from moment to moment, but also applies from the death of an individual to another individual's continued rebirth. Thus, depending on a certain being, in a previous life, this being exists today. How does this regeneration actually take place? If you ask a person who is about to die, it is often found that he does not want to die. No! this man just wants to live, because there are spring cabbages to grow, his neighbor needs to talk, his grandson in a faraway city needs to visit, another book must-read, etc. There are many indications that very few people are actually ready to die beautifully, give up all worldly problems that they can no longer do, to go to death, and exist in their future life completely. A person, even though he is standing at the door of death, his mind is still full of worldly worries, craving for lust and wanting to exist in the sensual world. A person who dies with the merits of existence in heaven, with his mind directed to a state of peace different from this world, still has craving to reach a heavenly state. In any case, there is still a desire for a future life. The desire to continue living has risen to the point of despair, when many sensations disappear, the body ceases to function with the unexpected karmic force, and will receive the dark fruit of rebirth. A dying person may notice strange signs, they can see within them the radiance, the goal of liberation, or nirvana shining within them—a radiance that contains hundreds of millions of sunlight. Many people who almost died (from drowning or from a hospital operation) have described such an experience. Often they are not prepared for this experience, they are focused on receiving a contract of a new life, in one realm or another, fear arises, distracting them from the opportunity. great to reach Nirvana; The experience of escapism is gone, while they sink in haste to bury themselves in some earthly life. Continuing this empty experience, they come to other signs, signs that either represent past lives or something foreshadowing the future. A person may see a symbolism representing some event of their past life (such as a wedding ring representing a marriage, or a bowl of rice representing generosity in food almsgiving). , or a certain memory image appearing in a past life can also be seen. These symbols have a great influence in the next life, a person dies with an unwholesome memory symbol as the object of their consciousness (a person remembers some deceitful act they have committed). deeds, bad words they cursed at others, or a murder) are bound to a rebirth according to that consciousness. Since consciousness is associated with the unwholesome, rebirth will therefore suffer. On the contrary, when dying inspired by the thought of a belief or religion, or recalling the pure meritorious deeds they have done, they will go to be reborn in a good realm, that happy realm is called Heaven or Pure Land. While they have a very subtle body, they can also see two boys and girls during intercourse, they are attracted to them (if a son, will love the mother in the future). her future, a daughter, loves her future father), they find that they are now entangled in, and must endure, fetal existence in order to finally be born. These consciousnesses are understood as linking consciousness and according to the natural, rebirth is present. Consciousness connection is the result of past karma. Thus, a person is reincarnated, according to their results. When they live in a state of happiness or suffering, they are equally impermanent. Born and reborn, sometimes happy, sometimes miserable, sometimes neither happy nor miserable. According to the previous individual's life, sentient beings in this life exist; Depending on the present karma of living beings in this life, a person in the future will be present. The present self is neither the same as the past self nor is it different, but depending on the past self, the present self is present. Thus, the continuum of life is continuing to flow. The question is often asked: If I have had one or more past lives, why don't I remember those past lives? This question is easy to answer with examples of the power of memory. First of all, do you remember everything that happened each event yesterday correctly? Memory is the third of the five aggregates, it is so wrong that it is necessary to answer this question with a negative answer: why should we remember events that happened many years ago? Moreover, memory as a support for the sense of self, noting only one event, forgetting others, to the point of falsifying even recorded information. If an old man were to ask an old man about the natural climate when he was young, he would surely say: the climate at that time was better than the present climate, the crops were also better, the summers were longer, the rain was more abundant, etc. .. But meteorological records will prove him wrong. The climate at that time was the same as it is now, his memory haphazardly forgot the rains or the cold that he did not like, really he just looked back at an imagined golden age. That is the characteristic of human memory, remembering only happiness and forgetting unhappiness, as such, it is creating a distorted image of life. A particularly painful experience is immediately forgotten, then the later sensory experience is superimposed, that is the memory of a being. This was too painful an experience for the child as Buddhist psychology often speaks of, as modern obstetricians have confirmed. In the face of this, the fact that coming into being in the fetus, not a safe and comfortable way to hide, as some psychologists have identified, is a most frightening time for the fetus. This unborn baby is not just a small physiological organism, but it is during that time that it also has unfading memories of a previous life, a life perhaps even happier than the prison-like situation that it now feels itself. Going further back to the time of conception as taught by the Buddha, not only are male and female physiological cells needed, but also a being (with a subtle body) seeking rebirth. As we talked about the fact that prevents many people from remembering previous lives, this only adds to the other suffering, the death anxiety mentioned above, we know that a few people actually do. The desire to remember the fact of such a wound is so painful, and indeed most want to hastily forget it. However, a few people still remember. Babies, more than one would assume, recall their past lives. Some children are also born with marks on their bodies, which are the result of some actions in their past lives. A few elderly people still have very clear memories, but that memory becomes overshadowed by the development of the mind-faculty as it grows. Several cases of such memory have been collected in Thailand, and many similar cases in other countries have been studied by Dr. Stevenson of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. In many such cases, it is possible to control the remembered details with the help of many living people or past records, and the high accuracy is due to the above memory property. Skillful hypnosis also sometimes uncovers details of a past life that is not necessarily the last. Finally, the most reliable memory is the one awakened by a bright mind and focused in meditation, when not only can we see only one life, but we can recall countless lives too. past, can re-experience details with complete clarity. To summarize this chapter of reincarnation, it is possible to use a noun from one of the most famous examples in Buddhism, which was asked by King Milinda of Nàgasena. The example of rebirth used by Venerable Nāgasena is to compare the change that a can of milk undergoes: it begins with only milk, then milk turns into curd, condensed milk turns into golden butter, and butter turns into butter. light, light butter turns into liquid butter, so the process can progress from one state to another without end. Each stage is compared with regeneration, during the time from whole milk to liquid butter, there is not a single latent being that is truly unaltered. Here only the process is acted upon, the process goes on and goes to destruction by itself. If you have a little humility, you will see that the human status is an ever-changing process, reacting and changing. Medical Report and Right Report (Level and Perception) We have discussed reincarnation in brief, what is a person who is reborn, These two questions require further answers. Reincarnation where? And why should one be reborn in such a realm? Before answering these questions there are a few things to keep in mind. We note that the first question refers to spatial location i.e. where to ask. It is very important to know where exactly. First of all if one asks the question where am I now? Then the answer to this reincarnation problem becomes easier. Assuming the concept of self or self is a relative fact, the question of where I am now is being noticed, the answer can only be: on the human level the soul is closely related to body and both are tied together by past actions (karma). Therefore, I am called a human being and claim to be so. Now, in my life, there's a time when I can become something other than human. While I was raging with rage, my conception of a person was completely turned upside down, and it was likely that people would say of the angry self: “Did you see his face? ? The face is like a demon!" This gesture is perhaps worse than a frenzied ego seeing images of terror, terror, and excruciating pain. Then, where am I? If not in one of the hell scene? From the human level, another corruption can occur. Lust can motivate me to act like an animal, or worse than an animal. The self that enjoys in lust, no matter how it tries to justify it, is just the animal self. Again, even in this life, vile people act like hungry ghosts, while others can be compared to yakshas. Neither the gods nor the gods are beyond the scope of that thought (their minds are no different). In this life, we can see real people worthy of reverence like saints and sages. In them, the holy state of the soul emerges clearly. Where can all the realms see it? Depending on the cognitive ability to see. In these realms, from the highest abode as in the Brahma world, to the most terrible abysses of hell, nothing exists but karma, the karma itself that creates it. Rebirth in different realms can be viewed in two ways, either as rebirth at the end of this life, the idea of ​​which we are all too familiar with; or alternatively, rebirth that follows death, happens from moment to moment. Thus, it is in this life, from day to day, we can experience mental states equivalent to those of the gods, or be dragged down into the depths of hell. Since the mind (or rather the continuum of consciousness) is like a life-stream of latent and actual force, the evolution or degeneration of that life-stream that occurs in this life continues unceasingly, When the physical body dies, it follows the river (or thought pattern) created in the present. In Buddhism, usually about five or six different planes of existence have been described, although the description of these planes is not meant to be a rigid dogmatic system. The experience of each being in each of these worlds varies greatly according to their past karma. Among these beings there are two types: human beings and animals that humans usually recognize. Previously we could shrug (mocker) at the existence of invisible beings in realms we don't know, we could only examine a thing in relative terms. We perceive the world only in terms of special human experience. A being as a human being, because of intentional past actions (karma), and has human faculties (including mind faculties) for the same reason. These senses are the result of past actions. Usually people think that this world, exists only as they perceive it (through eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body), but if we investigate deeply by insight we find that this world it really depends on our perception. For example, the human eye is limited and dominated by what we can see, by its very structure. Everyone knows that bees can see a color, such as ultraviolet rays, but we have no idea what color is, of course, we can find certain nouns to describe it. . So, according to how our different senses are composed, our world is also completely different. In Buddhism, mind (or mind) is the sixth root. That mind has its objects and memories. Mind is a series of psychological and emotional processes that, in our case, act on the human level, governing all our perceptions of the human concept. Thus, understanding the relative of the six senses: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind, and the result of relatively real perception is not difficult to understand that all realms are real, latent even in the state of mind. our own degrees, it is also fully present in the present, and distant beings living in those other realms are also related. The idea of ​​heaven in the sky, or hell under the earth, is expressed literally and cosmologically, but what is this psychological reality? Ups and downs, high or low, are meaningful only to the experiences of beings in the different realms, which will be discussed in the following pages, but in fact that experience is entirely present and ongoing. can enter the realm right here. To see how that can be explained, let's quote a few well-known Buddhist verses: "For example, a pot of water, sentient beings perceive differently: It's fairy wine to the gods, It's water. drink evident to man, Whereas to the hungry demons, Seems to be a stench of pus, For the Dragon King and the fish Water is the environment to live, Or the space for the gods to hide, Is the boundless realm of space, So whatever things, life or death, Be in man or not. in human. All beings see differently, Depending on their karma…” If seen in the light of this teaching, our world suddenly turns into a great secret. Wherever we live, whatever our life and attitude, it seems that around us there are other sentient beings rejoicing in the joys of heaven, or perhaps staying in a invisible in boundless space, or crying desperately for food, or perceiving and feeling the terrifying torture of hell. But our perception is limited by karma and rarely sees the states of other beings. However, in the case of a few people, their consciousness is not limited, they can enter other realms. The surest way to do this is by practicing meditation to calm the mind, accompanied by full awakening. As Buddhists often say: mindfully such a person can experience some or all of the realm of existence, which will be described as follows. Some lower realms are also open to the average soul, but since their experience is often accompanied by a lazy state of mind, it is unwise to put too much faith in their statements. . Existing Realms There are the following six realms outlined by the experience of enlightened beings, From the beginning of the higher realm to the lower realm, people can be reborn according to their karma. Devas (meaning those with luminous bodies). The Buddha and many teachers of other religions have been in contact with beings with more strength, longevity, and happiness than humans. They enjoy states of existence according to different levels of psychological development, levels of training from the human position. Thus, a person who decides to use his life to develop meditation, in doing so he attains the formless realm. When they become adept in these realms (which is a very rare thing indeed), they may die with the mind dwelling on one of the four realms of the formless world. So, when they die, their consciousness continues to exist on that plane. Conventional, we could say that the person is reborn in some formless realm, but it is closer to the truth to say so. Such continuity in this world, when we know this or that person, etc... today has given birth (actually not, because there is no physical body in the gods) a realm of some kind. there. The gods of the formless realm dwell in their own realms, such as the base of boundless space, the base of boundless consciousness, the base of nothingness, and the base of neither perception nor non-perception. Periodic their time, we can barely tell. It is difficult to say that they enjoy a long life, they have overcome the enjoyment of a mediocre life, because they have attained pure mindfulness. However, when the merit resulting from the practice of formlessness has been exhausted, they cannot live in that realm much longer, and must be reborn in the lower realms, usually the Rupa realm (described later). Buddhist practice is particularly discouraged from reaching this formless realm, for such meditation is indeed a difficult spiritual path to follow, unless, in the hands of a meditative genius, one can This type of meditation can be used with good results. Such states of existence are isolated from the universe, entwined in meditation (not the fate of many), cutting off all hope of developing wisdom and achieving Nirvana for a time. very long time. For example, one may lose the fortunate opportunity to hear the enlightened beings who appear in this realm of long-term existence preach the Dharma. This practice brings more spiritual results, it leads one to experience the material realm. One can experience different material realms corresponding to them, by the results of the fourth jhāna, as described in the Buddhist scriptures. The Devas born into this world (in the same way as the Devas in the Formless Realm) have subtle bodies and have spiritually peaceful lives. Meanwhile, the basic emotional state in humans is the state of sensuality. The deva realm is a state in the form of compassion to mental calm (for the path to this realm of form, see chapter II, the abode of the gods). The practice of the gods in this heaven is to live in the spirit of compassion, they have gone beyond the feeling of craving. The lives of these gods are less great than the lives of the Formless Devas, but greater than the lives of beings on this earth. Among those gods, some are proud of their status, and believe that (because they are first born into the world in which they live) they are “the conqueror, the invincible, omniscient, all-controlling, lord, creator, creator, leader, commander, guru, father of all who have been and will be.” The Buddha had reason to warn these devas on several occasions, he pointed out that gods are not permanent, and that they are intrinsically impermanent like all other sentient beings, have a past life and most likely know the next life. According to the transcendent wisdom of the Buddha, sentient beings who claim to be eternal creators are deceiving themselves. In the past life, these sentient beings practiced meditation, thus they became the higher among the gods, but they don't remember their past lives so they haven't attained perfect wisdom (if they had perfect wisdom they wouldn't exist in the realm as they are). Other gods, when they die, believe they are separate from the group of creators, take birth in humans and practice meditation, remembering their past lives, but not remembering other lives before life. live the past. With such deep faith, they believe that this or that deity whom they have clearly remembered is the creator of heaven or earth. On the basis of this incomplete knowledge, fueled by inner experience, they rose to proclaim their message to the world. Really, about 500 or 1,000 years ago when orthodox theocracies came into the world, The Buddha, through his wisdom, humbly pointed out the main origin of such religions. There were also many gods who asked the Buddha, the Buddha taught them, while he practiced meditation. Many gods have become disciples of the Buddha, continue to live purifying themselves and are teaching others in the Realm of Form. With this meditation as the basis or living like a god in the meditative scene, one can develop wisdom as long as one receives genuine advice; Only then can meditation achieve results. After living a long life there, if not yet liberated from the cycle of rebirth, the next life will usually be in the lower deva realm, or in the human realm. A person who lives a moral life without sin, If they do meritorious deeds and may have some meditation (but have not yet achieved any result of meditation), their mind generates value beyond the level of ordinary people, but has not yet smashed the obstacles of lust. At death, one's mind lives with a state of peaceful joy, a life beneficial to other sentient beings, and they will be reborn in the heavenly realms of the Desire Realm. There are varying degrees of pleasure here, and subtle pleasure can be enjoyed. In the realm of the gods, there are both men and women, between them there is a delicate love of heaven. In general, the conventional conception of heaven or heaven of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam equivalent to these realms has been very precisely expressed by Buddhism, this precision comes from practical experience of the Buddha and many sages. Life in these heavens is of course very enjoyable, but it is shorter than life in the higher heavens. In these realms there are a few sentient beings who are able to understand the truth taught by the Buddha, for they lead a rather enjoyable and joyful life, to be able to hear, or practice, the teachings of morality, concentration, and wisdom. . In the Buddhist tradition, one of these realms is the abode of the future Buddha, who is called the Compassionate Saint, Maitreya Buddha. He is now a bodhisattva living one last life, waiting for favorable conditions to be born on this earth for the last time, attaining full enlightenment. At that time, he taught sentient beings in the future the Dharma from ancient times, that is, the true Dharma taught by countless past Buddhas and the present Gotama Buddha. Conclusion, Our very limited presentation of the Gods is an ancient Pāli canonical description of their gestures. The birth into the gods is compared to a tired person who is traveling on a hot day, but eventually arrives at a splendid castle, where in this castle, an armchair is upholstered in objects. precious use, he lies down, and experiences pleasant sensations. The last mentioned beings are the Desire Realm gods, in this realm all kinds of beings are present here, as we have seen, because of the presence of desire, there is always a some degree of conflict. There is conflict in these beings because they have desires, although these pleasures are more delicate than ordinary human attachment, so they have to fight against war-loving beings, who are originally gods, but are banished from heaven, because of their quarrelsome nature (compare with Satan's downfall). and its consortium). These beings can be called asuras, they have great power but are quarrelsome and envious, which is a natural consequence, not only do they fight with the lower gods but also harm them. each other. Their world is a world of power and full of bitterness, a strange and terrifying combination. How are these beings related to human life? For example, a person who likes authority, spends his time (his life) to influence others. They love to give orders, even if this order has hurtful consequences for others. They plot a conspiracy, calculated and did not hesitate to eliminate opponents by brutal means. During their life, the mind is focused on gaining power, not giving up greed for power until death. When they die the thought of maintaining power over others is beyond their reach, they are reborn in the Asura race, where they certainly have power. But other people also have authority in that life, which is an environment where everyone has power, and abuses each other's authority. Being born there was absolutely no fun at all. Next is the ladder to humanity. Compared in the Pāli Canon, the state of man is described as follows: a person is walking on a certain road to a large shady tree, under the tree there is a comfortable flat ground, he is sitting. rest there, and experience sensations of complete delight. Devas and humans are counted as happy realms, while asuras and the other three types of beings described below are definitely unhappy. Man occupies a very important position in the worldview of Buddhism, because man is not created in the image of God, because man has the right to decide. Human life is a mixture of happiness and bitterness. People who have experienced this confusion cannot always be lulled by a false sense of security with pleasures, and they have the great advantage of being quite intelligent, so what can they do about it? their suffering. Contrary to this, the devas lead lives of advancement beyond sublime pleasures, through halo of happiness, through rare renunciation, their realm is more enjoyed, usually they are not interested in developing facts that lead to the superman in a positive way (unless encouraged by the Buddha or other sages). They are also spiritually inclined, so their ability to make unusual decisions is limited (like pursuing an active religious quest). The asuras are more occupied in causing wood and harming each other than in practicing the path of liberation. Of the other three beings, the hungry ghosts are preoccupied only with unfulfilled desires; In animals, the mind is focused on food and physiology, while the poor souls in hell are tortured so much in many ways that they cannot think about religion. Humans can sometimes think about religion. In fact, people rarely practice morality, concentration, and wisdom. But when they practice the elements of the Way, it becomes a part of their lives. It was for the sake of man that the Buddha gave his most important teachings, because he knew that humans could understand and practice those teachings, and could also realize them (as 3. chapter of this book states). A person can decide to dedicate himself to selfish, unwholesome goals, to a meaningless life, or to dedicate his life to the purpose of performing a holy act that brings happiness to others and to others. themselves. There is indeed a hindrance of arbitrary habits from the past affecting them. In many cases, however, people can make a major decision to mold their lives in one way or another. While doing so, they also provide a pattern for their future life as explained, because good deeds increase the power of the good seed in the mind, thus ensuring a happy rebirth, on the contrary, unwholesome action, through the reinforcement of a distorted, sick mind, will create a miserable future life. It is human being who can experience the ultimate enlightenment, become enlightened one, if they wish, that is the greatest blessing, not only the purity, the security of one's liberation, but It is also compassion, the way to liberate many others. Readers should understand that being born as a human is a precious thing, a great opportunity not to be wasted. In the Pāli canon, the Buddha once gave an example of the rarity of human life as follows: Suppose a person throws into the ocean a piece of wood with holes in it, that piece of wood is drifted on the surface of the water by different winds and waves of life. A turtle that lives in the ocean, comes to the surface once every hundred years to breathe. Even after a lifetime, the turtle could hardly come to the surface to get its head into the hole in the piece of wood. If, once a man has fallen into the three realms of evil, he is reborn as a human, that is also rare. These unhappy realms are a warning to us that, if we cultivate greed, hatred, and delusion in our minds, these three kinds of living beings will be able to be objects of craving when we die. . In the spiritual ladder, below humans are the pretas. This species of sentient being is sometimes seen, heard, or experienced in some other way by a small number of people. How did they get to that state? They were led there by greed. People cling to money, material possessions, family, they think very strongly (about those things). The miser in this life, they are the octopus of the family, they like to have more, better, and bigger things than the things of their neighbor next door. Thus this person is developing unwholesome psychological factors, and if they cling to them, it will lead them to rebirth in the hungry ghost species. Hunger means experiencing unsatisfied longing. In some cases, contacting their former family, they can inform but can't talk to each other, for their money and belongings, they can now see, but cannot own. possess. They are indeed in the position of Tantalus in Greek mythology, bound for a long time, by longing for the impossible. Life in the hungry ghosts is long and miserable, many do not perceive day or night, there is only an endless gray, through which obscure things appear from time to time. When the evil karma that led them into the hungry ghost species ceases they are reborn, if their rebirth is human - as it happens - they will be crippled in some way. However, the study of various reincarnations tells us that many people whose lives are suddenly cut off, perhaps most of them live in an bardo in the form of demons, and in more or less comfortable circumstances, to wait for the opportunity to be reborn in accordance with their karma. The comparison in the Pāli canon describes the state of a hungry ghost as a person suffering from fatigue, could only find a fallen tree, sparse shade, they rested on a rocky mound beneath the tree. That person is feeling like a hungry ghost, feeling mostly pain, happiness is very fragile. Further down, to the animal world, here ignorance or stupidity, poor understanding, stupidity always reigns. Those who go down to the lower level than humans, because their minds are filled with thoughts of food, water, and sex, and think nothing else, they will bring themselves back to life. born into animals. Not only are animals incapable of understanding, but most of their lives are miserable. Wild animals live in fear of being killed by other animals, or those who like to eat or kill. If they like to eat meat, they will be motivated by the urge to kill other animals, while all were afraid of starvation, there was almost nothing they could do about it. Cattle are more miserable, they are used for man's own purposes. Humans crave their meat, skin, fur, bones, fat or teeth, either they shoot them for fun, or they hunt them in various ways, for fun (but ask the animal being hunted for it). do you enjoy this?). They also have to endure the touch of heat and cold, of parasites and many diseases, without being able to do anything effective to cure them. Fortunately for animals, since their lives are often short, their sufferings come to an end quickly. Although it is a favor to them, it is difficult for a being who is going through an animal life to have no chance to make merit, or understanding the benefits of doing things, human birth is impeded, until a result of some good deed from the distant past emerges, helping it to free itself from its condition. make animals. The state of those who are reincarnated beasts, these beings are often dull, because of a legacy from their past lives. The Pali canonical analogy tells of a man walking along a road, eventually coming to a pit full of foul filth. It had fallen into that pit and was experiencing intense pain and suffering like an animal. Animals in the range of human perception, it is known that one day, they also have the opportunity to reach enlightenment (not that they are just born to be used by humans at will). Therefore, Buddhists often treat them kindly, and care about their feelings. The lowest and most miserable state of life is not in the ordinary human experience: often people cannot directly perceive hell. There are some people with extreme mental turmoil, they are living a life like hell, their world is definitely not the world we live in. A person sometimes practices meditation, either because of the wrong redirection (very dangerous to their conscience), or can control their mind more closely. They may also experience a state that feels like a descent into hell – like an endless, dark, and threatened cave. At the bottom of the cave is a mass of dirt, where half-human, half-naughty beings are struggling slowly and hopelessly in extreme suffering. Terrible hot and cold, As well as the ghostly images seen in this state, this is only one aspect of the hell state (all such phenomena arise, for the power of past unwholesome actions lies in the mind. of those who have experience with them). According to Buddhist psychology, anger is always associated with painful feelings. A person can be greedy and happy at the same time, but can never be angry and happy at the same time. One who cultivates hatred, anger, malice, harbors hatred, or revives anger will have to experience much insecurity because it has clung to a great source of suffering. Those who show their hatred towards others by killing, torturing or hurting, according to the scriptures, one can expect to be born in a state like a pit full of burning coals. . Here, they will experience extreme pain, aching, and anguish. Only in such an environment can they feel all the suffering they themselves have created with unwholesome causes, which is the result they take for themselves. How is life in hell different? How much time? It depends on the gravity of the evil committed. When the mind is filled with anger, we bring grief to others. To do so is to expose oneself to constant torment, and in the end this miserable and fearful being, by relying on a few small virtuous deeds, will be freed from it, able to give birth to animals, for It is very rare that a being can jump out of hell to be reborn as a human. If this can be done, the person suffers the consequences of disability and stupidity, a terrifying reminder of their past lives. Tourists who visit Buddhist countries may sometimes see such a person being helped by relatives by giving alms or doing some other meritorious act, by doing so he can become sane in life. live the future. It should be noted that the level of life described here, in all cases of beings, is because they have developed mental states that are either wholesome or unwholesome. Therefore, it can be said that the elements in our mind are caused by any thought, with that mind will create a similar situation. Here the Buddhist teaching on the life of the rebirth realms, as has been mentioned in many places in the Buddha's teaching is not vain, empty, but emphasizes the extremely important fact of the state of mind. psychological state. Another example of Dependent Origination is according to how the world is perceived. The mind, if it transcends its limits, can reach a superhuman state, beyond all different levels of life (see chapter III). The cessation of the cycle of continuing rebirth is found only when one attains meditation and wisdom unmovingly, as did the Buddha and many sages. The stopping of the wheel of birth and death coincides with the perfect wisdom known by the Buddha, which is the attainment of the peace of Nirvana. Compared with the Pali Canon, there is an example describing Nirvana, here will be quoted in full: "Sariputra, with my mind, I understand the mind of some people as follows: He who has such deeds, acts like this, has walked on such a path, after having eliminated the taints, no longer has the taints, will attain and abide by the mind of liberation, liberated wisdom and realized that liberation right now with his supreme wisdom. After a while, we see that person, by doing so, is staying in that state of liberation, experiencing a feeling of extreme calm. Just as, Sāriputta, there is a beautiful lotus pond, with clear, sweet and cool water, a magnificent shore, and near the lake's shore a dense forest, much shaded. Then a man, dominated and oppressed by heat, fatigue, thirst, and dryness, was going straight to that lake by a unique route. A person with eyes sees him, and says: "That good man with such karma, walking on that road, will come to that lotus lake, after a while, the one with eyes can see the other diving. down to that lotus lake to bathe and drink water to relieve all the toil, fatigue and fever, and then come out of the lake, sitting or lying in the woods, experience sensations of extreme calm” (Middle Sutra I, 76-7). Since Buddhism is a religion of compassion and wisdom, Buddhists think and try to relieve the suffering of those born into a state of unhappiness. In principle, it is done by doing good deeds, dedicating the merit that has made others happy. The teachings on the dedication of merit, another example, belong to the skillful use of the teachings as a means. Therefore, people do not try to accumulate merit on their own, therefore, expressing a sympathy, a wish to alleviate the suffering of others, they are encouraged to dedicate the merit to the unjust. happy. Much of that dedication is aimed at the pretas and their deceased relatives, who may now be experiencing the suffering of the pretas, this dedication also has practical benefits, both to relieve such suffering beings, and to keep them from destroying humanity. Finally, it may be necessary to answer a question nave people often ask about reincarnation: Now that the world's population is increasing, where do newborns come from? This above is clearly answered, has shown that human life is not a solitary phenomenon but a continuous flux. On the spiritual level, it is possible to advance to other states, or to fall to subhuman states. The beings, above and below the human state, far exceed the number of humans on this earth (think of the number of each species of ant in Thailand compared to the number of humans!). But Buddhist thought is not limited to this meaningless planet, which has always conceived of the infinite number of the vast solar system (the modern noun is called galaxy, already in this solar system must according to its condition). Although reincarnation usually occurs within the same solar system, this is not necessarily the case, since beings of one solar system are not isolated from beings of another. However, a human being who, in the last life, seeks to be reborn in a human, will usually be reborn into a human being in the same group. Even sometimes reincarnation occurs within the same family, here especially familiality is very strong. Religion dominates, as it has dominated many social issues, thus influencing the majority of the environment, for this reason it is maintained from generation to generation, but not always, because Gender can also change. The Beginning Has written briefly why and from where there is rebirth, but one question remains unresolved: How did all things begin? And from where? Of course there needs to be a start, is this really necessary? If we think that from a time we were not, something brought us into existence with a name like this, then the usual answer is: God or a power. invisible (somewhat) created the universe, this planet, and the beings on this planet. When we think like that, a further question inevitably arises: Where does this God or that power come from? If the answer is that He is eternal, then why at some point, He decided to bring all these things into existence? For what reason? For His pleasure? Or because of our suffering? Either way the answer is, God is very difficult to be called compassionate, such an answer is stifling further studies on the matter, without being able to learn more about God. sole. It is remarkable why mankind often pushes God back into the distant past of creation, or the wondrous future of contemplation. This means that god is not very involved in their present life. Perhaps God is a belief, or maybe a desire (having a father, an eternal life, etc.). But when it comes to everyday life, the idea of ​​God very little arises in our minds. This gives us a clue as to the Buddhist attitude towards the idea of ​​God, if God exists then what makes our lives in the present really different? Are not the distant past as well as the wonderful future not closely related to us in the present time? For the Dharma, the present is always important, not the past, because the past is often likened to a dream, not the future, because the future is like an illusion. What I am doing now, how I am reacting now is more appropriate than thinking about the distant event. These far-fetched facts were called by the Buddha the reasoning of wrong views. Wrong view because the conclusions that can be reached are built on the basis of uncertainty. What is this conclusion? One is blind faith, the other is desire. Another hornet's nest is raised, when beliefs collide, this is called harassment, religious war, which shows us why strong attachment can be called is wrong opinion. Why do we make more trouble with those wrong views? When answering a question about the length of an kalpa, the Buddha said: "For sentient beings, driven by blind ignorance, motivated by craving, who are rushing in pursuit of the cycle of birth and death, no. can see the beginning.” Thus, for Buddhists, the beginning is meaningless, the moment of creation can neither be found nor a creator (we are all creators, our willful actions (karma) we have led to a continuous creation). Learning about the endless birth and death rooted in ignorance does not confuse us any more than talking about a creator who was never present. Indeed, the former is more beneficial than the latter, because ignorance is in our minds and canto be eliminated by appropriate effort. Events occur based on various conditions. Thus, all dharmas (conditions, things both psychological and physical) come into being and come to annihilation. There is no need to look for a beginning or a creator. An old verse describes: “There is no God, there is no Brahma, which can be called: the Creator who transports this life; There is only the phenomenon of vacuum transition, It is all dependent on causes and conditions.” (Pure Path XIX –Nanamoli Thera) The Buddhist cosmology not only notices the existence of immeasurable aggregated worlds that we call the galaxy, but also has a vast conception of time. The universe. The oldest Buddhist scriptures talk about how the different stages of kalpas becoming and eons of decay, over the course of this immeasurable, galactic time, are gradually formed, After a period of relative stability, life can be found in that world. Therefore this galaxy must surely exist, be reduced and come to annihilation. All of this is the crystallization of evolution, one event leading to another, very naturally. The watch must have a watchmaker, but there are also countless other elements, so too, the universe expands and contracts by the forces that exist within it. What did Buddha say about God? According to a teaching we have seen reprinted many times, did the Buddha remain silent on this matter? The story of the creator's birth is just enough to address this question: When a new cycle begins to take shape (after a cosmic cycle perishes), a sentient being is born according to kamma to a heavenly state (this being's kamma is a condition that causes them to experience that particular heavenly state). Here, other sentient beings are absent. These beings do not remember their past lives among the gods in the higher heavens, over many lifetimes, they believe that they have lived and will live there forever. When they have passed an infinite amount of time, they want to live with other beings, and then another being, depending on their karma, reappears in that realm, they believe that the being has just appeared by will. their. From such events, it continues to glorify itself, self-glorifying their imaginary creation plus conceit, for the newly arrived sentient beings do not remember their past lives, so they thought they were Brahma's creations. One of these great Brahmas named Baka, when the Buddha visited that realm in meditation, he showed it to be an empty claim to be eternal, to be the creator, to be empty. (remember that this realm exists according to the level of the mind). The attitude of Buddhism towards God or Brahma, the creator, is briefly summed up in a few translated verses: “If God had eyes, he could see sad scenes. vomiting, Why doesn't Brahma make his creatures good? If His power is so great and limitless, Why is it that He rarely reaches out to save? Why are all His creatures punished in suffering? Why does He not give happiness to all beings? Why let deception, lies and ignorance reign? Why does deception prevail, truth and justice fail? I consider your Brahma an unjust guy, He created a world to cover mistakes!" Bhuridatta Jataka No. 543) The great power of God and the small capacity of man to create good or evil, as fatalism claims, inspired (the poet created) these words: “If God has enough power to make all beings either happy or unhappy, good or bad, then God has sinned: for man acts, but acts according to His will.” (Mahàbodhi Jàtaka No. 528) Three Unskillful Fundamentals When the Buddha's teachings are investigated then we find that it is the path that guides us to psychological investigation, one aspect or another. . Because mind is the basis of all experience: when crooked, unwholesome states of mind are present, we will experience life and death; without them, and wholesome states are developed we can know the spiritual bliss of the celestial world. Finally, when we have liberated ourselves through the sword of wisdom, freeing even our desires for good deeds, we will know the indescribable supreme happiness of Nibbana. Are we still under the influence of samsara? Or in all our actions have we shown ourselves to be completely pure, compassionate, and wise as an enlightened being? In the case that the mind has reached a state of vast and incomparable change, even though then we may call an enlightened person, having attained supernatural powers of one kind or another, one's actions It is truly beyond all categories. In Buddhist teachings there are different classifications of mental states, called mental states. The purpose of this teaching is to allow us to do psychological analysis, so that unwholesome mental states will be found and eliminated immediately, and encourages the strengthening of kusala cittas with the help of concentration and concentration. Tue. The specific action of practical psychology cannot be discussed here, but it must be emphasized that this is an attempt to present a positive state of mind in a useful concept, in order to counter the negative notion as spirituality. Soul, self, etc. Experience that many people consider to be common sense is actually completely distorted, because of the misjudgment of the self and the outside of me. When there is discrimination there is duality and is accompanied by greed (what I want and I like), anger (what I don't want and I don't like), and delusion (fundamental ignorance, i.e. all that is wrong, stubborn like I don't know or I don't want to know). This distortion does not lead to the perception of the world as it really is, but to the perception of a self-dominated world, that is, we are colorfully infected by our individual thought patterns and memories, when we When we connect the past with the present and look to the future, we are creating a self-image in our hearts. This self-image interferes with clear vision or insight, because we are always looking at the world through the stained glass of self. It seems that this view only surrounds the self more or less, that is, all events perceived by different meanings (including the meaning of the mind) are in the automatic tendency to relate to the self. . This meaning is either thought of as a part of the self, or belonging to the self, either experienced by the self, or expected by the self, or disliked by the self, or different from the self – or negative associations such as not having a self etc. Self-grasping leads to selfishness, or selfishness center, autism center is the experience of non-wisdom beings, is the source of all suffering; because it arouses desire, aversion, or apathy, all of which will ensure that true lasting happiness cannot be found. Greed may be associated with temporary pleasure, but when the object of our desire has been obtained, craving ceases, and the pleasure we derive from that object is always highly variable. or less depending on the extraordinary circumstances. In all cases, depending on the severity, anger is the most effective factor destroying happiness and bringing suffering. Anger is either self-hatred or dislike of others, both create a lot of suffering, and dislike of objects or situations will not make us happy. A person who develops resentment all the time, is separating himself from the rest of humanity (indeed from all other living things), becoming bitter towards himself, and accumulating karma. very miserable, this karma will create really unhappy results for oneself in the future. Dullness or ignorance is preventing us from seeing what really leads to happiness, what leads to unhappiness. Even if the entire Buddha's perfect method, as well explained and clarified as a detailed map, were placed in front of a person who is suffering terribly from this illness, he would not be able to understand it. that map. Although this conclusion is not very satisfied, the self is born in samsara by the three poisons (greed, anger, and delusion). The self is found in greed, hatred, and delusion, and it disappears when the three poisons are destroyed. These three diseases of greed, hatred, and delusion are called the unwholesome basis, because akusala arises from them, either from each or all three, so that all other unwholesome states arise, they are also called diseases. According to Buddhist psychology, one who allows them to arise and develop in the mind is mentally ill. Mental illnesses, not all kept safe in the hospital, are really everywhere; we can only get hold of the prominent case, and the base is still raging unstoppable, clogging all kusala cittas. All who do not have the supreme wisdom, the wisdom that is non-dual, All of them are mentally disturbed to some degree, their mindstreams are interrupted and warped. Only those whose mind-stream is not sick are completely non-dual, called holy. In fact, this noun is very misleading (it should be noted that not sick and holy are etymologically related). Insanity From this unwholesome basis arises more complex insanity, meaning that when we look at people, things and even concepts, all of this is impermanent, ever-changing from this moment on. to another minute; what is really full of suffering, we see it as pleasure; all phenomena, from electronics to galaxies, both mind and matter including sentient and inanimate beings; all this really has no real essence, substance, soul or self, we've seen it have some kind of latent substance. Final, Insanity is really ugly, this one is destroyed and dirty, so is the other beauty. This perversion is present in three levels, they are called perversion of perception, perversion of mind and perversion of view. Perverse perception means that our perception is distorted, we are perceiving things in a mistaken way that is not true (such as seeing a rope and mistaking it for a snake, or hearing the wind and mistakenly thinking it is a snake). demonic voices, etc.). The perverted mind is the view of the mental factor, this view is really wrong, will lead to unhappiness, but thinks it leads to happiness (like living in a state of waiting for a pleasant object in the future). , a person, a position, or an object that the crazy mind sees as bringing true happiness). This could be just a misunderstanding of perception, the result of wrong information or training, but the third level suffers from a very serious emotional frenzy. It is a perverse view, as some political, philosophical or religious views are often conservative, regarded as an absolute truth. Each of the three perversions mentioned above, can be experienced on these three levels, the following paragraph will clarify this meaning. In the first, we are confused by the temporary appearances of things. To our diseases clouded by ignorance, this thing does not appear as still life. We do not perceive the process in living change, but we think of it as being eternal. Through a series of changes in a specified direction, this similarity is often mistakenly regarded as the same. If this false conservatism is firmly rooted in our minds, then all attachments and cravings for things and people (including attachment to self) will be formed, this clinging attitude will bring with it a lot of sadness, because of the way things look, People in this direction are the way to see things through a distorted mirror. Things were not seen properly, they were perversely seen as if they were permanent. Second, because of insanity, suffering is seen as pleasure. Thus human beings are spending their precious lives too much on one pleasure or another, never attaining true satisfaction, craving because they are driven from one thing to another. another thing. Pleasures can produce a sense of momentary gratification, of worldly happiness, but they are always latent with disappointment and regret following, then the desire for some other emotion, manifesting a real dissatisfaction. the. Those who are really interested in greed, hatred, and delusion are, of course, frantically trying to enjoy what cannot be enjoyed. Suffering is related to which mental factors the three basic above are present. Nothing can be really satisfied, when greed, hatred, and delusion are at work, for it is certainly spinning, seemingly doing the opposite of what nature cannot satisfy. The third form of this insanity - the insanity which considers the object to have a permanent substance, or the man to have a self or soul - is the result that is not within the cognitive scope of the first form. and the second above. In or behind the ever-changing process, nothing remains unchanged. First, how can impermanence be related to its opposite? Second, such permanence, was not known through the contemplative world, nor through all the representations of modern scientists. Even in the field of atomic physics, the unchanging essence is not found. It's all in flux, in constant change. Furthermore, real permanence must be the source of lasting satisfaction, but as we have seen, such satisfaction cannot be achieved by the usual search in things, positions and people. Therefore, it must be said that the discontent arising from impermanence, things, etc., were not perceived as changing, because perversely, not only do we think they do not change (but they do not change). We are even disappointed when they dash our expectations.) Because of our sense of self reflected on such people and things, we conclude that they have an intrinsic permanent substance, an immortal nature or substance. Because most people do not have the wisdom to overcome external manifestations, to penetrate and realize the world as it really is. Thus, they are usually not aware that objects such as a Rolls Royce car, a daisy, Mr. Jones, a mosquito, or me, or the earth are heterogeneous things, all being combined into a block, but actually consists of many interrelated causes and conditions. A few thoughts on the matter, you may agree. The trouble is that this agreement is intellectual, accompanied by a crazy view, and this agreement alone is certainly not enough. After all, the unbeautiful is seen as the beautiful. Because of not being aware of the changing nature of things, not seeing the beauty of today that will wither tomorrow, people and things have been grasped as true beauty. For example, when this body is young and not wrinkled, we may like to look at it, but looking at it that way, we fail to notice two important facts: first, this body is inevitable. go to recession, sickness, old age, and finally death. Seen in this way, this body is never considered beautiful, but because of our perversion we have forgotten it; second, even now this body, piece by piece, put together, we can know, but we don't see (for example, our lungs or viscera), and certainly many people wouldn't like to see. The skin covers so much, if this body were placed on a table in front of us, will most likely make us cringe. Anyway, this is still our beautiful body, it is just like the other beautiful body we have fallen in love with. This is a prime example of what is not beautiful is seen as beautiful. This does not mean that people and things in the universe are ugly, nor can it define ugliness as the ultimate nature of the universe, but it does show us that the perception of true beauty almost like insight, that is, a perception that is not distorted by perversion. If there is a case where the unbeautiful is known to be unbeautiful, and the attachment to it is abandoned, then on the other hand, the real beauty to be perceived is no longer obstructed by the mental factors associated with sex. hope. Three Dharma Seals These three perverse forms do not lead us astray, if we use wisdom to contemplate the nature of self, and the essence of all reality. We see that all the elements of the self are impermanent, when we have craving there is suffering, and cannot find the latent nature in the self. That is the doctrine of no substance, or the doctrine of no-self. This concept is called the three dharma seals, which we need to examine more fully, because meditation is called knowledge as it is, in order to discover them. However, we cannot perceive them without first suspending our agitated mind. All these meditations need to be attained by bodily continuity, if they are effective, they will eliminate the defilements of the mind such as the three unwholesome bases, etc. Actually, we only examine them in the direction. knowledge area. The first Dharma seal, even though we can see the leaves on the tree, some are still green, some are old, and others are yellow, but impermanence does not affect our mind. Even though our hair is changing from black to gray, then to white, over the years, we are not aware of this very clear teaching of impermanence. As for the truth of impermanence, sometimes there is a profound difference between mental assent and verbal acceptance, the truth having to be experienced internally. The trouble is that intellectually we can accept impermanence as a valid truth, but emotionally we don't, especially for me and my family. mine. But, whether our unwholesome feelings of greed, hatred, or delusion are accepted or not, impermanence still exists as a truth. Through insight we realize the truth, then we will be happier immediately, because our thinking patterns will be closer to reality. The second seal is easy to say, "oh yes, the cause of suffering arises because of craving." But it's not enough to just leave it like that. That craving must be uprooted from our minds by insight, so that suffering will cease to dominate us. It is a truth, when we see it as it is with wisdom. Until then, this seal is still a teaching, even a precious one, from which we can achieve something better to guide our lives. The last Dharma seal is the most difficult to understand. The two seals in front of the mind can be accepted after some data has been experienced by the senses, but the no-self seal cannot be entered so easily. This dharma seal can be experienced after a long period of meditation, and will know other related dharma seals when fully experienced. This is also a concern of the greatest sensibility of the seals, as it directly upsets the conventional solipsistic conception. Concepts are thoughtless and governed by the third form of perversion, which is generally assumed to be real. If we examine a chair, many people (with the exception of a few philosophers who have adhered to the reasoning of the Greek philosophers) will agree that the chair cannot find its individual parts. Take the chair apart piece by piece, we will have the chair legs, backrest, seat, mattress etc..., but the chair is gone. If you cut these parts into small pieces, you can't find the chair, the chair legs, or the back of the chair, etc., but only the pieces of wood. Going further the chair is completely invisible after each of these pieces of wood has burned and only a handful of ashes remain, There is no end to such a process. When we examine things with this perspective, we find only the process without the actual, permanent, and substantial thing. This is very easy to apply to a chair, but it is completely unacceptable to many people, if applied to their precious self. Dissect that self, what will we find? By a classification, the Buddha has listed into five aggregates: form, feeling (feeling happy, feeling painful and not happy not suffering); perception - perceiving things through the senses and memories; onion; and consciousness - related to the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. Where is our precious self then? According to this explanation, the self is found to be composed of various elements, it exists relatively, but our biggest mistake is to think it exists as a thing, as a whole, or have a subtle entity, or have an essence as our true self. Apart from the foregoing, the final rebuttal to this is undisclosed transcendental insight. In each stage of analysis to uproot the mess, we must do it with our own body and mind, not on a chair; we realize that even in the crumbs that we have chopped up they are completely devoid of self, even in the smallest part or in the most swift event there is only emptiness, no-self, if seen with intense insight. In Part III we will refer to emptiness as not-self. The Virtue and Paramita Before discussing the practice of Buddhism, the practice begins close to the ground, not entirely above the air, we have to come down from the theoretical point of view to examine its fundamentals. These bases attached to the land are called meritorious deeds (simply called the word punna - merit). Therefore, the concept of merit is examined here briefly. In its main sense, merit comes from the practice of wholesome deeds, whether this is physical, verbal, or thought. Virtue is defined as the factor that cleanses and purifies the mind, that is, the practice of wholesome deeds increases the strength of the wholesome bases and weakens the domination of the unwholesome bases. Therefore, the growth of the good and the decline of the unwholesome, we call the merit of opening the door and creating an opportunity. For example it increases our luck such as we have a good education, get wealth, hear the Dharma, enjoy learning and trying to practice. We should remember that merit is always open to anyone. From there we talk about the basis of merit or the basis of merit that one has gained. How did another person gain merit? By actions recorded in the 10 methods of making merit: giving, observing the precepts, meditating, worshiping, offering sacrifices, dedicating merit, rejoicing in the merits of others, listening to the Dharma, preaching the Dharma. as a result) correct his interpretation. There is not enough room here to discuss the ten methods of making merit, which have been explained elsewhere in this book, which are very important to Buddhists. While they are taken for granted in the East, as here they are practiced on a very regular basis, they become even more important to Buddhists in the West. We can see that many Buddhists, by reading books and listening to lectures, have acquired enough knowledge to explain what is meaningful with concepts such as Nirvana or Not-self. Theoretically, they can explain the sublime teachings of Buddhism, but their lives may be filled with inner and outer conflicts. The gap between knowledge and practice becomes painfully clear, if they don't see it themselves, others will surely see it too. These ten ways of doing merit affect them, to fill their days with beneficial deeds, from which meritorious actions will help them heal the rift between their reason and their feelings. . One's motivation to do merit is for their own happiness in this life, and their future happiness in the other world. While thinking about their own happiness, they do not think about self at all, but are encouraged to dedicate merit to others, as well as rejoice in that person's merit. For example, the common meritorious work done in Thailand, usually a community activity in the village or a group of friends, etc., although others have nothing to give, they still enjoy it. attend. Drum bells and joyful calls in groups announce that others can come to participate in the meritorious work, so that they can be happy, because the other person is happy, this is a merit. We should remember that other forms of making merit that are not collective, such as keeping precepts, practicing meditation, or correcting our views, also have merit. Virtue is the result of increasing the strength of the wholesome bases, but it does not eliminate the impurity of the mind, or the unwholesome basis. New wisdom is needed for that, on a higher level of Buddhist practice we do not speak of merit but of consummation, or of the perfections. Virtue becomes a perfection when it is practiced completely without regard to the notion of self. When we give something, it is not we giving but only giving, it is this mere notion that shows the process of not being self. Likewise, there is no receiver but only the object received, only the action and no subject at all. The perception of nothingness occurs simultaneously in all three areas. These three areas see things as real beyond merit, that is, to go beyond the concept of the self that has taken merit as its own. Virtue brings us to be reborn in the human realm or in the realm of the gods, but the perfections take us beyond rebirth, to the other shore - Nirvana. The ten perfections below are selected from both the Pāli and the Sanskrit versions, although many of the practices in the two lists are the same. These perfections will be discussed in the chapter on practice. One who aspires to enlightenment can, of course, practice this perfection, even though he has not yet entered the path of wisdom. In that case they have only the Paramita, or the practice of very good qualities. The Perfection of Virtue Faraway Secular Wisdom Vows (beginnings) Generosity Precepts Precepts (basics) Patience Concentration Effort (additional qualities) Meditation Wisdom Transcendental Wisdom Method Means Including All True Paramitas The Middle Way Practical Path Before sketching a few outlines of Buddhist practice, we need to talk about the methods by which we can attain enlightenment. . That path is often called the middle way, if most accurately translated as the practice of the middle way. Here we must clearly understand that, when the Buddha taught this path, he shunned all extremes, we should not assume it meant some kind of Western-style compromise, between all things. ! Compromise still has its benefits, but it doesn't mean the middle way away from all extremes. In what respect, then, is the Dharma the middle way? The middle way here has many applications, we can mention a few aspects, it can basically be defined as the overcoming of all extremes by the right path. Let us note some of the ways in which this principle is applied, then its meaning becomes clearer. In his first sermon, the Buddha said the Turning of the Dharma Wheel, he spoke of two extremes that are useless and unworthy of the behavior of those who have abandoned their families to live a monastic life. The first extreme is enjoying sensory pleasures (that is, being dictated by unwholesome desires). The second extreme is physical abuse (that is, being overwhelmed by anger, in this case, being angry at yourself). The Buddha taught the practice of the middle path that he found as a result of enlightenment, depending on which we will gradually progress (fast or slow depending on the degree of pollution of the body more or less). the soul (relatively as the unwholesome bases) through virtue, concentration and wisdom we will subdue, and will eliminate the unwholesome bases completely. Here we see the middle way in action beyond the extremes of the sphere of action. Let's talk about another aspect of human nature - the grasping of wrong views. Wrong view, either of arguments, or of dogmatic acceptance or justification, has been defined by the Buddhist tradition as a flawed understanding, mistaken belief based on the relationship of the unwholesome basis. The endless debate of philosophers, Theologians, politicians, in our day, can be very calming, if we understand why we must accept and believe this. A believer rarely asks questions, and while leaders have the right to think, they often fail to realize that it is their own desires that motivates them to make such claims. Ambition is analyzed into three types: ambition for sensory pleasure (craving), ambition for existence (craving for existence), and ambition for non-existence (craving for non-existence). It is clear that hedonistic materialism is based on this first ambition, while religions that believe in god, the soul, eternal life, etc. have their roots in the second kind of ambition. While the first two types of ambition are rooted in lust, the third is rooted in anger. The practice of the middle way transcends all points of view, because an opinion is just an opinion, and when we analyze it, we find that every point of view is a one-sided obsession, rooted in a strong feeling and usually not seen. If we reflect on our spiritual life according to the practice of the middle way, we can see how our feelings of belonging work, how do people react when feelings arise? Usually people have two ways: either enjoy or suppress. Either way people act, people will increase the suffering they are suffering. What is the middle way practice here? That is the path of mindfulness that the next chapter will talk about, which helps us to get out of trouble, and to find a way out of the cycle of birth and death. The middle path permeates the lives of Buddhists, guiding them to practice in the right way, overcoming the subtlest wrong views by cleansing the basis of unwholesomeness. In this way, they experience enlightenment without wrong views. SOME BASIC VALUES OF BUDDHISM [‡] Vast Literature First of all, we must understand that besides the teachings that relate to the main foundation of Buddhism there are other foundations that have developed throughout the years. The long and rich history of Buddhism is also worthy of our attention. To begin with, let's take a glance at the vast literature of Buddhism, which has truly expanded in a sea of ​​multilingual intellectuals. The infinity of this literature, if only a simple summary, would require hundreds of large volumes. Indeed, for Buddhism, especially in its comprehensive and comprehensive sense, One must not only understand the teachings of the Buddha, the teachings of the successive Elders (of the Theravada), including the storehouse of books, but also the details of the history that followed along with the Cultural significance, successful evangelization, enduring indoctrination influences that have conquered human hearts, on continents far and near, in complex nations and races for 2,500 years. Mahayana theory). While the original teachings were collected into the three Pali Canons (three collections of the Buddha's teachings on the Sutras, Disciplines, and Commentaries), later developments such as philosophy, sects, history, geography, and cultures are clearly presented and analyzed in languages ​​such as Sanskrit, Ceylon, Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese etc. In these literatures, besides the translations and transliterations of the scriptures, there are thousands of footnotes, commentaries and countless native works on Buddhist theory and practice. Even with the modern contributions of many Eastern languages, we also see precious works of Western languages ​​such as German, French, Russian, English etc. International character The immense character is worth it. The wonder of this literature is unique to Buddhism. This can be accepted as the foundation of its development history. The inevitable corollary to this is the international character of Buddhism, whose hidden philanthropic influences still pulsate life in most Asians, Buddhists or otherwise. And that's why the awakening of consciousness is alive among Buddhists around the world. That makes Buddhism an instrument of international contact. Missionary Spirit Back to the Source, The cosmopolitan nature of Buddhism leads us to the very source of this manifestation. The spirit of spreading the Dharma is an essential part of the great teaching of the Great Master whose point of view is the best illuminating truth. Not for yourself, but for others to share. That made Buddhism missionary in the first place and made it the earliest and largest propaganda movement in the history of the world. It is the highest duty for human thought known to mankind because each Buddhist apostle is a cultural messenger of charity and the embodiment of serving humanity, an emissary of truth. Associated with the spirit of spreading Buddhism are lucid rationalism, unified cultural influences, co-religion, liberating goodwill, radiant tolerance and above all, is the ability to adapt to indigenous needs. This has made Buddhism a suitable model for the needs of different peoples in different climates. This fundamental spirit of service to society is admirable, it manifests in the Bodhisattva ideal, which makes a person sacrifice his own liberation in order to serve mankind unselfishly. The Path to Peace These points are but a small number of the universal basic points of the history of Buddhism. In addition, there are many more special points worth noting. It is the immaculate purity of the Buddha's temple, not stained with a single blood - human or animal - for 25 centuries. This eloquently proves that the Dharma is the path of peace by non-violence. The cult of swords and bombs, which is now most revered, is very far from the very spirit of the Dharma. The Three Jewels Having noted some of the basic features embodied in the historical mission of Buddhism, let us now narrow our eyes and focus our attention on the main source of these strange developments. The most glorious source is the three thrones (Tiratana): Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, (the Guru, the Teaching and the Sangha). Those are the basics that deserve to be understood clearly, thoroughly, if we want to understand the essence of Buddhism. Buddha The personality of the Buddha is the key secret of his success. The history books record, a Sakyamuni Prince, at the age of 29, renounced the royal life, luxury and riches, bravely endeavored for six years and reached the highest result of the accomplished Self. - Nirvana. He became a Buddha, the World Honored One, the Great Compassionate One, the Great Enlightened One, and then spread the Dharma for 45 years to the sleeping world in the darkness of ignorance. At the age of 80, he entered the final state, crossing the net of impermanent phenomena. The life of the Buddha is the perfect embodiment of immaculate character, courage, determination, heroism, self-effort, limitless confidence, wisdom, universal goodwill, always willing to serve those who are lonely. poison and poverty. It is His life that is an infinite source of inspiration for us to acquire the above qualities and also to reach the highest goal. Disgruntled with the barbaric and irrational practices of his time, the Buddha worked hard to restore compassion, humanity, rational vision, and social justice. He is so successful in this direction that he has been hailed as the greatest missionary on the planet. The Buddha opened the way to liberation by his own efforts, it is a very encouraging basis for us and for everyone. This appreciates the value of individual efforts to overcome delusions, inspire people with courage and faith, so that they can follow in the noble footsteps of the Buddha to reach the sublime goal. He himself has achieved. What mankind has achieved once, people can achieve again, as long as they strive continuously, in quality as well as in quantity. That raised a banner of hope for all, and brought into his religion the greatest optimism in his life. Safe refuge Today Buddha is no more, he himself cannot help us in any way. But, with immeasurable compassion, he left us a map to the ultimate Nirvana, with detailed step-by-step instructions, which is the Dharma. Not only that, He also left behind a group of Sangha, consisting of monks, who were expected to become exemplary practitioners of the Buddha's teachings. Thanks to the basic precepts and objective examples, we easily penetrate the spirit of the Father's teachings, and our journey to the glorious goal becomes reality. Therefore, a Buddhist always feels responsible for the Guru, always shows gratitude to the Buddha, always pays respects and takes refuge in the Dharma and Sangha. Now let's review some basic teachings. Is Buddhism a religion? What is France? What is religion? If Religion means the spirit of the mindless, opium facts of the masses - as defined by Karl Marx - then Buddhism is not such a religion. Buddhism is not a religion either. if religion means slavery to hopeful conceptions or gods. However, Buddhism is a religion in the human and moral sense, used as special medicines for certain problems, and it is also meant as means to the highest end. Buddhism is also a religion in the sense of effort and hope. To be sure, Buddhism is the Heart of a Heartless World – According to another Marxist definition of religion. Essences The universal discovery of the problem of suffering (dukkha) is the essence of Buddhism. This miraculous discovery is also an effective solution to the problem of suffering. Thus, the Buddhist solution is to solve that problem. This basic point is the key point of Buddhism, around this center are the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Dharma Seals (Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-self), the chain of cause and effect (12 causes and conditions), self-control methods and self-cultivation. To understand Buddhism, it is essential to understand these imperatives. Such an approach of the Buddha proves that he was a perfect scientist. Dogma must be thrown away, blind faith must be abandoned immediately, and superstition must be abandoned. Intellectual slavery is seen as a scourge, and free and honest thinking is encouraged. Thus, closing eyes in submission, even to the Buddha, is incompatible with the spirit of the Dharma. Always and forever striving to rise, that is the slogan of a Buddhist. Buddhism focuses on the present life, yesterday is dead and tomorrow has not yet come. Buddha, How did the masters of science solve world problems? He placed the entire universe in His spiritual center – rather, a psychological laboratory – and meticulously analyzed matter as well as spirit. As a result, he discovered that samsara is an extremely complex phenomenon, the attribute of constant change pervading and pervading the world. That is impermanence (anicca), whose truth was not understood until the atomic age. Constant change means a perpetual movement, a successive change of relations of things, ideas, and the subsequent existence of a constant friction. The objective manifestation of this is the lack of permanence to which the subjective response is discontent. The general unease in the phenomenon is called Suffering (Dukkha). The obvious existence of vicissitudes and suffering clearly implies the absence of an individual who is usually present in the phenomenon. That is no-self (anatta). Understanding the three basic characteristics of the phenomena of Impermanence, Suffering and Not-self (anicca, dukkha, anatta), will illuminate our vision, we begin to see the true nature of the world. The Buddha himself applied this great invention to the human world, so we can conclude: He has turned the human eye upside down. That brings us to the teaching of the Four Noble Truths. Truth of life Human being is a part of the universe, it must share the three basic properties of the universe: Impermanence, Suffering and Not-self. Suffering in humans manifests as sorrow, grief, depression, sorrow, disappointment, despair, etc. Even in real life, there is suffering of the body and suffering of the mind. People don't get what they like, Either one gets it but can't keep it forever, or one gets what one doesn't like and one has to keep what one doesn't like, then people suffer. Life is so intimate with Impermanence that no good in appearance or health, in terms of position or power, money or fame, friends, or social rank can last. steady. Change for a better form or a worse form, all because in the end is still suffering. That is why the Buddha declared the truth of life. This is his first truth, the truth of suffering (dukkha sacca). The cause of human suffering is not found in the objective world but depends on subjective desires. Its servants are the three basic evil tendencies of the mind, called greed, hatred and delusion (lobha, dosa and moha). This is the second truth concerning the cause of suffering (dukkha samudaga sacca). The third truth concerns the cessation of suffering (dukkha nirodha sacca), the cessation of causes (desire) leading to the cessation of fruition (dukka). That is, without lust, there is no suffering. In short, the Four Noble Truths are the practical prescription for the eradication of the cause of suffering, and the Eight Noble Paths are the ladders by which one steps away from suffering and ultimately overcomes the clutches of the three poisons. Right View goes hand in hand with Right Thought, leading to Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood, which prepares for Right Effort – the 6th step. Next is Right Mindfulness and the last step is Right Concentration. These Eight Noble Paths are divided into Virtue, Concentration and Wisdom (silà, samadhi and panna). Through the arising of Wisdom, insight (vipassana) into the true nature of things, we come close to Ultimate Liberation, Nirvana. Nirvana Nirvana, Sanskrit Nibbana, is the ultimate liberation, liberation from the net of samsara (samsara). It is a state of rest, free from afflictions, and cleansed of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion – the three major evil actions often hidden in the human mind. Scientific point of view From what has been said, it is clear that the basis of Buddhism is a scientific and practical point of view. That scientific view is a fundamental aspect of Buddhism, evidently derived from one of the definitions of Buddhism: Come and see for yourself (ehi pasiko). It is a defiant assertion that can only arise from strong confidence. Buddhism embarks on the fundamental problem of human suffering, working to eliminate them, in a logical, practical and scientific way. If viewed from this wise perspective, the Buddha is indeed a physician of the world. Like a doctor facing his illness, the Buddha faced the suffering of the world. He saw that the patient was sick (dukkha). He found the cause (desire) decided to eliminate the cause and prescribe (the teachings), who took the prescription and followed the doctor's instructions, might be cured. The carelessness of the sick child must bear the consequences, which can be severe or light depending on the nature and extent of the illness (ie, the attachment to greed, hatred, and delusion). Just possessing and worshiping prescriptions won't help anyone; Must follow the instructions to be effective. We must rise to the ideal, it is not enough just to occupy and worship. The simplest way to understand the truth of Buddhism is that we must wisely grasp the chain of Causation, which means that everything that exists is the result of causes. This formula explains human existence very methodically, presented as follows: Because of Ignorance arises volitional actions. Because of actions there is will (Act) that there is Consciousness. Because of Consciousness, there is Mind and Body. Because of the Mind and Body, the six senses are born. Because of the six senses (the six senses) there is contact. Because of contact, there is feeling (receiving). Because of Tho, there is Ai. Because of Ai, there is Thu (keep it). Because of Thu, there is birth (Being). Because of birth (Being) there is Birth. Because of birth there is aging, pain, suffering and death. How to understand this chain of suffering and the method to get rid of it, it is presented in the following remarkable passage: “Because of this suffering arose faith; by faith leads to joy and continues to rapture, calm, happiness, meditation, understanding of things, equanimity, celibacy, liberation, Nirvana. "It is clear that the mother of all suffering is Ignorance; By eliminating suffering and evil, replacing ignorance with wisdom, one reaches the final stage of Enlightenment (bodhi), hence the name bodhi or enlightenment (bodhi-dhamma). The Middle Way Another fundamental point of Buddhism is the emphasis on the eight Noble Paths as the Middle Way, and this path is intended to denounce two extremes: the extreme of licentiousness and the extreme of suffering. happy. Buddhism encourages living a frugal, harmonious life, a healthy body capable of maintaining a healthy mind. Personality Here, we can also note the basic points of a person including psychological and physical factors (nàma rupa); The psychological factors are broadly divided into: feeling (vedana), perception (sanna), volition (sankhàra) and consciousness (vinna). We need to understand that human personality is recognized by Buddhism only in the sense of experience. Buddhism strongly denies the meaning of eternity. While not denying the continuity of the individual from minute to minute, from life to life, Buddhism strongly denies permanent identity. Relationships are maintained through behaviors and their results and not through the active, unreal person. We also need to understand that while its emphasis on individual change is seen as an instrument of liberation and universal service, Buddhism vehemently denounces the adoption of gross individualism. Fuel of Life The five human components are always naturally changing, supplemented by our desires, and synthesized into our karma. The element of will associated with karma makes us responsible for our actions, so that we must bear the corresponding results - good or bad - in this life or in the next, whenever. When karma ends, you will be reborn in the next life. Thus, rebirth continues, life after life, as long as the fire of craving continues to burn with the fuel of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion. Only when experiencing personal self-cultivation (inner cultivation and doing good deeds) craving ceases, the accounting of karma is cleared, the individual proceeds to the peaceful berth, Nirvana. Those who aspire to become Buddhas have to go through the process of more difficult conditions to reach the goal (parimita). Aspirations For busy worldly people, Buddhism seems to be a complicated matter. Definitely so, because Buddhism is only suitable for the treatment of a complex disease - Samsara (samsara). But, Buddha is infinitely compassionate, he has simplified this matter for lay followers, has shouldered many family and social responsibilities, seems to have little time to take care of his present advancement. present, and your own future happiness. To these people he taught them to begin with the five precepts (pancasila). These are good intentions for lay believers – they must keep the precepts of killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and abstaining from drugs. Practicing these precepts leads to self-control, benefits society and further prepares them to uphold the higher precepts. The Buddha also gave lay followers thorough advice on family affection and worldly progress. This leads to another basic of Buddhism that is suitable for lay people as well as monks. French free will is a boundless pool of cleansing water. Anyone has the right to enjoy a sip of dharma water, or to bathe in it, a sip of dharma water will quench their thirst, their bathing will be washed away according to the extent to which they skillfully use that precious dharma water. Legitimacy creates equal opportunities for all, ensures social justice, and encourages personal progress. But, in Buddhism, the degree of that opportunity is appropriate for each person; according to the individual's free will without compulsion. Everyone has the right to strengthen or destroy his progress, for everyone is at his own discretion and must bear the responsibility himself. Moral Coefficients A person may be born a Buddhist, either by worship, belief or practice, but, these are only labels that show that he is related to Buddhism. But to be a true Buddhist must be based on his ability to meditate according to the extent to which he has internalized the Dharma and the degree to which the equivalent manifests in his life. The brand does not matter, it is the content of one's action karma that constitutes its true value. Vast Range As has been said, the ocean of Dharma is truly vast. Good men and women can freely accept at any point. The scope of the Dharma is very wide, for everyone, each person can choose a point that is most suitable for himself. In the field of meditation alone there are forty objects for meditation. While one person may meditate on a mutilated corpse to understand the meaning of impermanence, another admires the beautiful and calm face of the Buddha; and others like to contemplate the four sublime brahmaviharas called love, compassion, joy and equanimity (metta, karuna, mudità and upekkhà). Acquiring the Dharma is also possible through the grasp of the principles of Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-Self, or only through the observance of precepts, or the only way by giving. The Law of Evolution Once in contact with the Dharma, progress is not only maintained but also sublimated. For, in samsara there is nothing that is stationary, if a person does not advance he must inevitably regress, and regress means degeneration. The trajectory of transformation is limited only by the endless samsara horizon, from one kingdom to another, not only limited to the human realm, but also extending to the Brahma realms, the heavens above, and the animals. , hungry ghosts, and hell below. If in this vast space a being does not move forward, it will fall back, surely it cannot stand still. Except in the case of a sage (ariya) who has reached the stage where there is no longer degeneration and progress is the law of necessity. A person who has reached the first step of this noble stage is called stream-enterer (sotapanna) - that is, one who is entering the stream of Nirvana; This stage is achieved by overcoming 3 of the 10 chains (sanojana) of samsara. In the second stage the hindrances are lighter, and in the third stage the non-returning (anagami) overcomes the hindrances. When all hindrances are eliminated, through practice one reaches the highest stage - Arahantship, the value of which is greater than that of conquering the whole world. gender. Another fundamental feature of Buddhism is that while explaining the philosophy of degeneration, Buddhism also refers to the character of Progression and is always stimulating to move forward until the ultimate goal of progress is achieved. . The Need for Excellence Through the advancement of human science we have discovered the fundamental characteristic of Karma. A person can build his own castle, can sit on a throne, can wield great influence and power, and can also have a treasury full of money. But, all these facts give him a situation governed by a series of karmic effects. When his karma is over he may fall into a state worse than a beggar, even worse than a maggot in a sewer, depending on the result of another part of the karma. of y. That is why we sometimes see a vizier die on a gallows post in his own country as an open criminal, or a great lord shot dead by his own people, or his heirs. next to the throne is begging for shelter and food. On the other hand, a carpenter low in society may suddenly rise to a high position, and a beggar may suddenly become rich. Thus, a person is not what it appears to be, or what it seems to be. Its karmic record is its true possessions. It inherits only the remaining results of its actions. This understanding stimulates Buddhists towards noble responsibilities: It is this point that makes them always maintain good deeds and always be diligent, otherwise evil will come in unexpectedly. The Greatest Religion The foundations and fundamental values ​​of Buddhism are numerous, but what has been presented is enough to show that the teachings of the Buddha are truly marvelous. That teaching begins with inquiry through virtue and ends with liberation. Simplicity goes hand in hand with depth, theory is suitable for practice, effective and universally applicable to all times and all climates, suitable to reality and ideal aspects of life, to the demands of reason, immense compassion and love, focus on social justice and service to humanity, above all the ultimate aim of the teachings is the elimination of ignorance, the cleansing of ego, the right point of view. This has made Buddhism a beacon of human philosophy. No wonder this single religion is not fanatical, oppressive, or compulsive, and has become the world's greatest religion. The World's Needs Finally, in the simplest way Buddhism means: eliminating evil, doing good deeds, purifying the soul. That's what today's world needs to get out of its mess. Future Role Buddhism is the largest of the world's religions, and if democracy is upheld, Buddhism has the upper hand and responsibility to the modern world. H.G. Wells, the world's greatest historian, when it comes to Buddhism, he says: "On the great scale of the world, Gautama's original teaching - if resurrected and purified - - can come into contact with Western science, inspire the spirit of history, and can play a role in guiding the destiny of mankind.” It is a fundamental factor at best concerning the future role of Buddhism. Pray for the lasting Dharma to win forever. Dr. RL Soni. RELIGION OF SCIENTIFIC REASON [§] The Buddha was the world's greatest physician, and his methods were clearly logical and scientific. When a doctor visits a sick child, he diagnoses the illness, then takes his pulse and gives medicine, and the sick child is cured. Likewise, the World-Honored One, the greatest spiritual physician, saw the world afflicted with agonizing disease; He saw that craving is the cause of suffering; Therefore, in order to eliminate suffering, one must destroy craving. And he prescribed the medicine to eradicate greed by eight right paths: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. These eight noble paths belong to the Four Noble Truths, the four pillars of Buddhism. Usually charlatans only cure temporary ailments. The doctor is just a machine to repair broken bodies. He put one part of his body together, and immediately the other part collapsed. He treated malaria, the sick child got dysentery; he treated dysentery, the sick child contracted pneumonia; When he treated me for pneumonia, I got sick with typhoid, etc., until I got sick and went to the cemetery. There he did not need to be cured! But the World-Honored One cured us with the supreme remedy of Nirvana, where we never suffer again, and all diseases are eradicated forever. Therefore, He is the only true physician, the most wonderful physician in the world! Buddhism is the doctrine of liberation. The Blessed One said: "Monks, just as the water of the sea has only one taste, saltiness, so in this teaching there is only one taste, the taste of liberation." The Buddha also taught only one thing: "Suffering and the cessation of suffering". Then who dares to say: "The way of liberation is cynical?" What is suffering? Birth is suffering; old is suffering; disease is suffering; death is suffering; living with people we don't like is suffering; to be separated from those we love is suffering; Always being disappointed is miserable. The First Noble Truth What is the Cause of Suffering? Craving and aspiration are the causes of suffering. Longing for the pleasures of the six senses is the cause of suffering. The Second Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering? The elimination of desire is the cessation of suffering. The Third Noble Truth What is the path leading to the cessation of desire? The Eight Noble Paths are the path leading to the cessation of desire. What are the eight Noble Paths? The Eight Noble Paths are as follows: Right view is the cause of Right Thought. Right Thought is the cause of Right Speech. Right Speech is the cause of Right Action. Right Action is the cause of Right Effort. Right Effort is the cause of Right Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the cause of Right Concentration. The fourth noble truth Right concentration leads to right enlightenment. Right enlightenment leads to right liberation or ultimate Nirvana. Thus, the bhikkhu who is practicing has eight stages to advance, and the arahant has ten stages. In the magic formula mentioned above, if we start with Right View, everything is right. If we start with wrong views, everything is wrong. Therefore, it is important to begin with true Right View. Those who are wise will attain Nirvana, and those who are deluded will go to hell. So let's help the deluded by spreading the Dharma as it really is. For the reward of truth is the highest of all rewards. One day the Blessed One put some dirt on the tips of his fingernails and asked the bhikkhus: "What do you think, bhikkhus? a little earth on the tip of my fingernail and this vast earth, which is greater?" "World-Honored One, this vast earth is larger, and so small is the earth on the tip of the Blessed One's fingernail?" "In the same way, bhikkhus, there are very few sentient beings who, after leaving this world, are reborn as humans or as deities. On the other hand, sentient beings, after leaving this world, are reborn in hell, animals or hungry ghosts are immeasurable (Sutta Samyutta). Without a supreme doctrine, the world is lost. Let us then spread the truth out of compassion to suffering humanity. Because of these two things, I became a missionary Buddhist. What is Right View? Right view is knowing the four truths above. Right view is knowing the three characteristics of things: impermanence, suffering, and non-self. All things are impermanent. Everything is Suffering. Psychological states are Selflessness. Right view is knowing the origin and destruction of the universe. Ignorance is the cause of tendencies. Tends are the cause of consciousness. Consciousness is the cause of Mind and Body. Mind and Body are the cause of the six senses. The six senses are the cause of contact. Contact is the cause of Tho. Tho is the cause of Ai. Ai is the cause of Thu. Thu is the cause of Birth (Being). Being is the cause of Birth. Birth is the cause of Aging, Sickness, Death, Sadness, Grief, Suffering, Grief, and Brain. Ignorance is the cause of Birth and Suffering. Ignorance is also the cause of the universe. The eradication of Ignorance is the eradication of Birth and Suffering. The cessation of Ignorance is the end of the universe. Ignorance is the Creator of the Universe. Demon King is the creator of the universe. The universe is dynamic, not static. Each person is creating his own universe, went through millions and millions of times in every moment of every second. The Arahant has destroyed his own universe, and has reached Nirvana. Truth is the atomic bomb that destroys the universe and brings about the ultimate Nirvana. What do people live for? Is it for pleasure? What is pleasure? - Is the provocative of 6 rooms. What do people get? - Hunger and thirst. What do people lose? - Nirvana. Aspiration is a common disease that can only be uprooted by not aspiration, but that root is in right knowledge and understanding. What is Right View? Real knowing that nothing exists, but only a selfless process of birth. What is the purpose of life? Purify yourself of all defilements of the mind. Life will fail if the heart is not purified. Life will be successful if sensuality is swept away. There are three diseases in this world, and Buddha gave 3 completely effective remedies. The three diseases are greed, hatred, and delusion (lobha, dosa, moha). The three remedies are generosity, morality, and meditation. Generosity (dana) destroys greed (lobha). Precepts (sila) eliminate anger (dosa). Meditation (bhavana) eradicates delusion (moha). The more we give, the less greedy we become. Keeping the five precepts, we eliminate anger. The five precepts are: not to kill, even the smallest insect's life. Do not steal, commit adultery, lie, and take drugs. Meditation will destroy delusion. Meditate on what? Meditate on the three characteristics of the universe: Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-self. Precepts and meditation lead to the eradication of greed, hatred, and delusion, becoming non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, attaining Nirvana forever. Extermination how? Killing desire by eating less, sleeping less, fasting, reading scriptures, live in a holy environment, close to the wise. Meditate on the defilement of this living and dead body, controlling thoughts. Desire arises thinking that this body is lovely. When we recognize the truth of this body as impure, then sex will cease. This living body consists of 32 unclean parts as follows: Hair, hair, teeth, nails, skin, flesh, tendons, bones, marrow, kidney, heart, liver, corpus luteum tissue, pleura, spleen, lungs, small intestine , large intestine, stomach, feces, brain, bile, phlegm, blood, pus, sweat, fat, tears, saliva, joint fluid, urine, gastric juice. If hair falls into the rice, or the curry, the rice and curry must be thrown away immediately in disgust. Parts of the body when destroyed are disgusting, but when they are attached to the body are considered beautiful, because lust blinds the eyes! Explain: When the water boils, one cannot clearly see the dirt on the bottom of the water. When the water cools and stands still, the dirt on the bottom is clearly visible. Likewise, when the heart is boiling with all lust, it is not possible to see the true dharmas. So when the heart is on fire with the stinking, disgusting hair on a woman's head, think it's beautiful. But when a hair is found in a plate of soup, it reveals its true evil nature, so the heart is calm and motionless, so the soup dish must be spilled immediately in disgust. . So we must always see as if this body is a filthy bucket of dung with two legs! The fable goes: One day a man was busy decorating the toilet behind his house with the finest Bonares silk. His friend suddenly came, found him busy with a strange thing, and cried out, "Old man, what the hell are you doing?" He calmly replied: "You see, I am trying to beautify the toilet by decorating it with the most precious silk." The friend exclaimed: “You are crazy, wasting precious silks on a dirty toilet!” “So are you!” he replied immediately. “Because you are also trying to beautify your body with the most precious silk; That body is nothing more than the toilet behind my house. And so I've done this to prove to you that wasting so much time looking after this filthy body - a bucket of walking manure - is folly." Then he added the following warning from the venerable Adhimutta: "If you pay too much attention to this gross body, enjoying it, while your energy is failing, when will you reach the ultimate goal of the holy life!" A corpse, exposed in the open air for a few days, is a very good subject for meditation. A corpse that was swollen, bruised, and maggots crawling out of its nine holes was enough to make one loathe the vile nature of this body. We should sit down and identify ourselves with that horrible corpse with the following thought: “As I am now, so was he; As he is now, one day I will be like that.” Thinking in this way will eventually show us that our body is just a zombie tied around our neck. And we will loathe and hate our own bodies as well as the bodies of others. That is the way to kill sex forever. This body is alive burned by greed and burning processes; so it must eventually disintegrate. But whether the body lives or dies, it shares the same dirty nature, so it must be hated. Look at the body of a leper, how disgusting! When all desires have been completely destroyed, Nirvana will be reached, for Nirvana means no more desire. Nirvana is the supreme state of cessation. sexis the hottest of all fires. When desire is destroyed, the state of ultimate Nirvana is attained. Kill sex with inner control. “A liberal mind is in the mud of passion.” The Buddha taught: "A Male-stilts with high vigilance should always pay attention to the five aspects of the mind as follows: 1. While observing the mind, if we see sensual thoughts arise, we will immediately see them. have to replace them with noble thoughts, such as reciting the Buddha's name, etc., then the bad thoughts will disappear. 2. However, if the bad thoughts are not extinguished by this method, then we must consider how the bad thoughts have matured in our words and actions. Observing the damage of such bad thoughts, the bad thoughts immediately disappear. 3. If the bad thoughts don't disappear by this method, then we don't pay attention to the bad thoughts anymore, of course they will disappear. For example, if we don't like seeing someone's face, then we just need to look the other way. 4. If the bad thoughts don't disappear by this method, we have to make these bad thoughts dissolve one by one, that is, we have to think for ourselves how to get rid of all the factors that make up. that thought. Just like a person running fast, can decide to slow down, or to stand still, or to sit down, or to lie down. And in this way he goes from a strong gesture to a softer one. The same is true for the monk who puts aside all those bad thoughts. 5. If bad thoughts don't go away by this method, then we have to grind our teeth, press our tongue against the palate, Use the power of will to uproot those bad thoughts. Just as a giant grabs a dwarf by the head and shoulders and throws him far away, so, through that active effort, bad thoughts will pass and disappear, so the mind will remain firmly, resolute and focused. Constantly controlling the mind in this way, the mind will become clear and pure, and will attain Nirvana forever.” We should eat as little as possible, the purpose is just to keep this body and nothing more. For, if we throw too much coal into the furnace, the furnace will become hot, and lust will rise up. Eating one meal a day before noon is the safest way to live. If we eat in the evening, desire will increase. We should be vegetarian. The carnivores are fierce. Look at the tigers, leopards and wolves! And herbivorous animals such as deer and sheep become gentle. Fasting will make us peaceful. Human teeth show that they tend to live on vegetables, fruits, and seeds, like apes. Live and let others live. Sentient beings are our relatives. All life is one; To love one's relatives is to love oneself, to hate one's neighbor is to hate oneself. The Buddha taught: "It is impossible to find a single insect that has not been our father, or mother, or aunt, or uncle, etc... in a previous life." Since all sentient beings are our relatives, we must not eat relatives like cannibals. We should sleep as little as possible. The whole world is on fire. We are in a burning house. How can we sleep in a burning house? The hearts of mankind do not sleep, then why should the mind sleep? Is the mind weaker than the heart? Science has proven that the mind is the master of the other body! At the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, a person was placed in a cage and forced to fast for 40 days. His organs were weighed first and then afterwards. After 40 days of fasting, it was found that his liver, kidneys and other organs had shrunk to half of their original area, but the brain remained the same as before. Then all the other organs have sacrificed themselves to keep the brain intact. Since the brain is stronger than the heart, it is at least as powerful as the heart. Sleeping 4 hours is more than enough. If possible, the lying position should be abandoned forever, and one must train oneself to remain in the sitting position all night. Giving up the lying position, the sleeping ghost will never have a chance to enter. For virtue is man's most precious treasure, Therefore, it is necessary to fervently guard day and night, night and day. What is human? Man is a composite of the five aggregates (pancakhandha), arising from ignorance and craving. The five aggregates are: Form aggregates (rùpa khandha): body Feeling aggregates (vedana khandha): Feeling aggregates Perceiving aggregates (sanna khandha): Perception aggregates formations (sankhara khandha): Consciousness aggregates tendency (vinnana khandha): Perception Five these factors are Impermanent (anicca), Suffering (dukkha) and Not-self (anatta) Man is a burning fire that never has two consecutive moments alike. Life is a continuous process of birth. Change manifests itself by death and rebirth. Life is a purely psychological phenomenon; pure psychological phenomenon is like a dream. Therefore, life is a dream. The eye is never satisfied with seeing, the ear is never satisfied with hearing. Seeing and hearing passionately is like drinking salt water that never ceases to thirst. The Buddha taught: “The world is on fire. Eyes are burning; ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are on fire. Burned by what? Burned by the flames of greed, hatred, delusion, old age, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and despair!" How to extinguish the fire of lust? - Pour in water. - No more oil added. 1. Pour water into the fires of the six senses by reading moral books daily and listening to noble teachings. Truth is water that destroys the fire of the six senses. 2. Do not add oil to the flames of the 6 rooms anymore. How? By seeing dispassionately, hearing dispassionately etc... Craving is oil to the fire of the six senses. By always subduing the six senses and using them with a mind free of craving, the flames of the six senses will go out, for lack of fuel. When the 6 rooms cool down, then the cool state of ultimate Nirvana is reached forever. The price of pleasure is suffering. Pleasure is never obtained without cost. Pleasure is small, but regret is great. An Arahant neither likes pleasure nor pain. He just likes the neutral state of eternal peace. No one has given up. Each person must choose their own destiny: Either accept voluntary renunciation, or accept forced renunciation. Compulsory renunciation means death. When the King of Hell - the king of Death - comes and grabs the trembling victim by the neck and mercilessly drags him to the cemetery or grave, it is forced renunciation. Voluntary renunciation brings us great rewards. Because at once we get rid of 50% of our attachments. Compulsory renunciation brings only pain, sorrow, and no reward at all. So renounce this world now of your own free will before Pluto forces you to. Humans have been born countless times in the past. If all the bones of a man were gathered together, they would pile up into a mountain higher than the Himalayas. The blood that has flowed from a man's neck if accumulated will be more than the waters of the four seas, when his neck is cut like a chicken, a sheep, a thief, a murderer or an adulterer. The tears from the eyes of a person that have flowed, if accumulated, will be more than the water of the four oceans. Life is a dream and only Nirvana is real. Therefore, one must immediately throw away the unreal world and enjoy true Nirvana. One cannot enjoy the unreal world and enjoy the real Nirvana at the same time. If one exists, the other must be absent. A person who loves the false world would hate true Nirvana. By clinging to the illusory world, one automatically renounces true Nirvana. Therefore, people become the greatest sacrifice, because they give up what is real in exchange for what is empty. A person who likes to dream will dream forever. Only the wise, who do not like the world of dreams, awaken and attain eternal Nirvana. Ignorance is the leprosy of the soul. Leprosy of the soul and leprosy of the body, which is worse? The leprosy of the soul is, of course, worse. So how can you be happy when you are suffering from a serious illness? Do you not want to accept leprosy of the body in exchange for leprosy of the three souls? Do you not want to receive the leprosy of the body and the fruit of arahantship at the same time? You are blind, the blindness of the soul. And blindness of the soul is the worst of the blind. We are eye pain specialists. Come here so we can remove the fish scales from your eyes. We do not ask for wages. We work only for love and compassion. Come here please. When you see the truth, you will be happy forever! How to reach Nirvana quickly? Do not add oil to the flames of the 6 bases. The eyes are aflame with greed, hatred, delusion, birth, old age, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and despair. The ears, nose, tongue, body and mind are also aflame with greed, hatred, delusion, birth, old age, illness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, grief, and brain. Let's not add any more fuel to these fires. Let's watch out for 6 units! Let us not indulge in the pleasures of the senses. The six senses are the wounds of leprosy. Let's not scratch these wounds anymore. The eye is never satisfied with sight, nor is the ear satisfied with hearing. So, do not indulge in the pleasures of the senses! Do not drink salt water. The more you drink, the more thirsty you become. If you don't indulge in the pleasures of the senses, the fires will go out because they run out of oil. Pour the sea of ​​water into the flames. How? By study and meditation. Make fervent efforts. Learn the wonderful teachings of the Buddha. Take what you read with real meditation. Study and meditation are excellent fire fighters. Let the firefighters do their job. Make an intense effort. Work bravely up! Let's burn the big and small errors with the fire of enthusiasm. Conquer fire with flame! Let the fire of fervor conquer the fire of lust. When the fire of sex goes out, it goes out forever. That is the cool state of Nirvana, because here all the fire of lust is forever extinguished! Our Buddha taught, there are two enjoyments: the enjoyment of the home life and the enjoyment of the monastic life. Of these enjoyments, the enjoyment of renunciation is much greater. No one can live without enjoyment. We must have either this or that. So, let's enjoy the pleasures of renunciation and renunciation. Sweet instead of the pleasure of renunciation. Reflecting on impermanence, seeing that everything is impermanent, impermanent and empty! Continue to see impermanence in all things composite, see life as a continuous process or a flowing stream, nothing is permanent, observe the tides and rise and fall of things, see There is no self-calculation anywhere. So there's no pain or sorrow, it's the pleasure of giving up self-sacrifice. Let's enter "The Realm of Non-being". Rejoicing in the realm of non-being, you will know how great the joy of renunciation is! When you have tasted the pleasure of renunciation, you will despise sensual pleasures and hold grudges forever. Man is a lamp burning continuously, never two moments being alike. Life is just a process of continuous birth. Then who is attached, who is craving, who is interested in politics through the process of attachment, the process of craving and the process of liking politics etc...? Then is it crazy to be attached to something? Ignorance is attached. Wisdom gives up. There are attachments, but there is no real attachment. There is a process, but there is no individual behind the process. There is suffering, but there is no really suffering individual. Ignorance is the cause of all suffering. Wisdom is the cause of all happiness. By eliminating self-grasping, you will overcome suffering. Life is an unreal dream. Wake up from this perpetual dream. Dream no more! Why does suffering last? The sufferer is a madman! The wise do not suffer. Therefore, become wise, and overcome suffering forever. When you become wise, you can lead others on the path of peace. Cut ties with crazy people. Find ways to associate with the wise. Are you interested in politics? Politics just fills the stomach. Be obedient to Religion. Religion will satisfy both the soul and the heart. Read Buddhist scriptures daily. Mental food is more necessary than physical food. Mental hunger increases lust. Eliminate lust by filling the soul with spiritual teachings. A dissolute soul will be mired in the mire of lust. Watch out for the mind! Don't let it roam here and there! Focus your attention on the breath, always thinking about the Impermanence, Suffering and Not-Self of all things. All things in this universe are impermanent. All that is impermanent is suffering. All that is impermanent and suffering is unreal, empty, and non-self. Meditate on these three characteristics day and night, night and day, in silence, you will surely succeed. Always thinking about Impermanence, you will eliminate ego and enjoy Nirvana in this life. Our Buddha taught: “In the view, there is only the seen (there is no self, and all seen things are impermanent). In knowing, there is only knowing (there is no self, for all knowing is impermanent).” Therefore, in seeing there is only seeing, in hearing there is only hearing, in thinking there is only thinking, in knowing there is only knowing; so you're not there. Since you are not there, you are nowhere. Since you are nowhere to be found, all suffering ceases! When you have practiced continuously and realized that there is no self and you are nowhere, who is suffering? That is the real end of all suffering. Make an effort to meditate on the Buddha's teachings, and enjoy the eternal peace of mind! Realize there is no self; because everything is fleeting, and everything that is passing is not real. The whole phenomenal world is the result of Ignorance. Eliminate Ignorance, see all things as true (i.e., Impermanence, Suffering, and Not-Self), then the illusory universe will disappear, and true Nirvana will forever be attained. You have to work on developing this amazing ability to think continuously, and always realize that in thought there is only thought, there is no self, there is no self, for all thoughts are fleeting, when the self is not present, thoughts become strange, continuously, without suffering. It takes effort to reflect on Not-Self, such strange continual thinking will lead to the abyss, in which the light of wisdom shines forever, and the confusion of Ignorance will be completely swept away. That is the secret of concentration and meditation practice with the thought of No-self, that is, knowing with certainty that in thoughts there is only what is thought, there is no self, there is no self, for all Thoughts are fleeting, and fleeting thoughts cannot have a self. While you are striving to attain arahantship in this way, you should always strive to develop in yourself aversion, fear, and aversion to all things impermanent. The Buddha taught the bhikkhu while he was practicing how to approach the right path. For example a bhikkhu is seeing a form, or hearing a sound, etc... Here something is arising, either joyful, or unhappy, or indeterminate - he must fill those arising. with disgust and fear. That's how he goes deep into the right path. This disgust and fear will completely separate you from all impermanent things, and bring you forever the peace and joy of ultimate Nirvana! Observe your thoughts. This is very necessary. Only those who are constantly observing their thoughts, observing how they are impermanent and not-self, can quickly attain arahantship. Therefore, you must always be cheerful, observing your thoughts. In this wonderful practice without effort, because there is no Self in the notions of Impermanence, so there is no suffering in thought. Beware of your thoughts, observing how impermanent, selfless they are, will bring you joy in disgust, disgust and fear, and will lead you to the supreme bliss of Nirvana. Renunciation is the path to peace. This is the only way, there is no other way. You were created a long time ago by those six killers. So, renounce the world and put out the burning flames of the six senses. When the six senses become cold, you will enjoy the eternal bliss of Nirvana. The Call of Freedom Now come, sit under the tree and strive for excellence. Who knew you could awaken wisdom! Going up and down, you will achieve the 8 Noble Paths. Who knows you will achieve sweet bliss. Stand up, fall down, let the earth rhyme. The gods know you will awaken wisdom. Efforts to the best, Nirvana must be achieved. I know you will achieve the highest freedom. Following the Buddha's example, strive fervently for the reward. As surely as the sun rises, freedom will come to you. May you always be happy and well! May all your highest aspirations come true. We must honor the Buddha with these three sacred aspects. The best way to honor the Buddha is to follow his practice. Following in the footsteps of his practice we will soon reach the ultimate Nirvana. May you fully attain Unsurpassed Nirvana! May the highest happiness and boundless compassion be with you, with all mankind in the whole world! THE SPIRIT OF OPENING TOGETHER OF BUDDHA Buddhism Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam from India and has existed for nearly 2,000 years with the nation's history. During that time, Buddhism was sometimes supported by kings, and at other times it was rejected by some. But in the end, Buddhism still endured these challenges to survive. Thus, it proves that Buddhism must have many potentialities, one of which has the strongest human influence, which is the compassion and tolerance of Buddhism. In the Lotus Sutra, the Devadatta chapter, the Buddha recounts that his predecessor had a relationship with Devadatta. It was Devadatta who was the supporting factor for him to diligently practice and quickly achieve righteous results. Therefore, for Deva, the Buddha regarded him as a benefactor, a good friend and an intellectual, so even though he has a malicious intention to harm the Buddha in this present life, After he died, he had to fall into hell for one life, the Buddha still predicted that in the future he would become a Buddha with the name of Heavenly King Tathagata. Reading through this passage, we feel extremely happy, because what is confusing between Buddha and Devadatta is completely resolved and thoroughly opened. The example of the Buddha is often followed by his disciples. During the Tang Dynasty in China, Han Du (768 - 824) was a conservative Confucian who had a prejudice against Buddhism, so he opposed the process of Buddha's relics of Emperor Tang Hien Tong, and was exiled by Hien Tong. to Chaozhou. While here, having free time, he began to learn Buddhism, then studied with the Venerable Dai Dien, was guided by Dai Dien enthusiastically, and finally he turned to the Dharma, taking the path of liberation as shelter until the end of life. Similar to Han Du is the case of Truong Han Sieu (?-1314) of the Tran dynasty in Vietnam. When composing the essay on the Linh Te Tower at Duc Thuy Mountain and the stele at Khai Nghiem Pagoda, he criticized Buddhism and promoted Confucianism, essentially saying: "The elegant scenes in the country, the temples take up half. ... besides today, if the Holy Court wants to expand its teachings to change its decadent customs, superstition must be abandoned, the right way must be restored, etc.." However, at the end of his life, he returned to build a house. He lived on Duc Thuy mountain and lived a quiet and peaceful life, which he thought before was a superstition that needed to be abandoned. He also wrote a poem describing the very famous Duc Thuy mountain, and it was translated by scholar Tran Van Giap as follows: The green mountains are still the same as before, The travelers have gone forever and still have not returned, The waves are in the shadow of the Bodhi tower, Open the cave door adjacent to the foot of the cloud, Life floats before and after, New relatives know before the big mistake, Immense heaven and earth, five lakes, Old beard, know where to explore. Perhaps in his old age, Truong Han Sieu was deeply immersed in the ups and downs in a difficult place as Nguyen Cong Tru complained: After graduating from school, fame and fortune were immediately humiliating, In the world, everyone cried and laughed. Thanks to that, he became aware of the fragile real life, the extremely small human condition. Therefore, standing in front of the compassionate image of the Buddha, through the simple and easy life of Zen masters, it seems to be a necessary refuge for those who have encountered many storms and storms of life. Besides, the nature of the intellectual is always to seek out transcendental values. However, in everyday life, he and Nguyen Cong Tru are both active people serving the country, and no one has dared to call them negative evaders. Around the beginning of the 19th century, in the South, there was a famous scholar, the valedictorian Bui Huu Nghia (1807-1972), when composing the classic play Kim Thach Ky Duyen, he sometimes made fun of the monks. However, when he died, his tablet was brought back to worship at the temple, and it was the monks who took care of the incense and smoke for him. Witnessing that scene, someone would say that the monks were really confused, unable to distinguish who was evil, friend and foe. But do they know that it was they who showed tolerance to expand the bodhisattva's heart, and acted in the spirit of compassion and equanimity that the Buddha taught. Besides, if Buddhism does not show tolerance, then Buddhism is no longer Buddhism. At the beginning of the 20th century, while the nation was looking for all kinds of ways to expel the French colonialists to regain independence, pagodas also actively contribute to the common cause of national liberation, considering it as the sacred duty of all patriotic citizens. However, when Doctor Yersin died in Nha Trang in 1943, it was the two pagodas, Long Son and Long Tuyen, who brought the doctor's spirit to worship at the temple, then celebrated his death anniversary very solemnly. Because they understand that Yersin is a humanist, a soul who only knows how to dedicate himself to serving humanity, he used to help the people of Nha Trang a lot, and is completely different from a colonial name. That work speaks to the spirit of wisdom and wisdom of Buddhism, accurately weighing, clearly distinguishing what is wrong and wrong, without having a blind extreme attitude, whenever you see anything related to it. the French immediately wiped it clean. In 1963, Ngo Dinh Diem's ​​government discriminated against religion, Buddhism fell into a legal crisis. Buddhist leaders demanded that the Government respect freedom of belief and treat religions fairly, but to no avail. There was no other way, Bodhisattva Quang Duc used his body as a torch to illuminate people's hearts and awaken the consciences of those responsible. But the conscience was not awakened, but the darkness flared up with the sarcastic statement of Mrs. Ngo Dinh Nhu: "They have grilled human meat, and if there is a shortage of gasoline, I will give more". The statement caused a sensation at home and abroad. However, the Buddhist clergy did not put a single penny on Madame Nhu's life as some other cardinals did when someone offended their religion. Maybe it's just Ambassador Tran Van Chuong's touching words to his unruly son: "He used disrespectful words to insult the Buddhist clergy, I don't recognize him as my son anymore." Then, what is to come must happen. And everything changes according to the law of cause and effect, good and bad, and eventually, there will be retribution. In 1988, Professor Nguyen Tai Thu wrote about the history of Buddhism in Vietnam with an easy concept, with some deviations from the spirit of Buddhism. However, the Buddhist clergy did not complain a word. However, life is not entirely simple, because whenever something is contrary to the truth, offends human conscience, someone will speak up to defend justice and defend what is right. That's Professor Vu Ngoc Khanh. He only spoke in the name of an upright intellectual's conscience, not as a Buddhist. Professor Nguyen Tai Thu's attitude to writing the history of Buddhism is so far from the humble attitude of poet Nguyen Du (1765-1820) when he talked about his admiration for the Diamond Sutra that he read it more than a thousand times. still do not understand the meaning of the sutra: Self-possessed Kim Cuong changes spirit, Ky Trung Ao is only ignorant, Up-to-date analysis of Thach Dai Ha scriptures, Tai tri has no self-revelation truth. That is: I have been busy reading Diamonds for thousands of years, Most of the weak points are not clear, when I get there, I know the scriptures without words. That humble spirit is also expressed in another predecessor, the scholar Le Qui Don (1726-1784) when he discussed Buddhism: "Buddhism is pure, unconditioned, sublime, and extinct, without any attachment to Buddhism. things, it is also the religion of the wise used to cultivate themselves. To the extensive discussions about morality, spirituality, nothing is without magical meaning. We Confucianists keep our prejudices and that, often rebuke, should that be the case? Vast space, things appear, even if you have talent, you can't know it all, not to mention that there are many places that are not fully understood, but whenever you see a book that records thrilling events, it is necessary. do not believe, even denigrate the Buddha, why so narrow-minded? Alas! The white horse carried the sutras to the East, perhaps more than a thousand years ago, but the mysterious teachings, the mysterious magic, and the immortal heaven and earth. Therefore, having experienced the wise kings and princes, the famous generals do not know how many times they rejected and eliminated, but in the end, it was still impossible to cancel. Then why do we have so many disparaging words that we have to take the blame?" (Kien Van Tieu Luc, district 9, p.1) Through the two examples of Le Qui Don and Nguyen Du above, We can learn a lesson in humility and prudence to apply when we have to present the history of our ancestors. In short, experience shows us that only those who are successful and well-educated can sincerely display their humble hearts, just as only those who are compassionate and understanding can open their hearts to all. . The Buddhist Sangha focuses on people, taking the understanding of people to come up with a method to free people from all suffering as the ultimate goal. Analyzing a comprehensive human being, we see that there are two main factors, that is: body and mind or matter and spirit, which is called the five aggregates in Buddhist terminology. The Sanskrit definition of the Five Aggregates is skandha, the former means warm or them, the new translates as aggregates. Aggregates mean obscuring, they mean collection of many elements, and skandhas mean accumulation. These factors include 5, so called 5 aggregates. These are: form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness. The aggregate of matter is common to tangible matter, including 5 senses and 5 objects. In other words, the aggregate of form is talking about the four great races: earth, water, fire, and wind. Geography represents hardness, water represents wetness, fire represents heat and wind represents dynamic. The aggregate of feeling is the effect of the mind acknowledging things in the face of objects. The perception aggregate is the effect of the mind imagining things in the face of the scene. The aggregate of formations is the effect of the mind that gives rise to all good and bad karma in the face of objects. The aggregate of consciousness is the essence of the mind that clearly discerns things when faced with objects. When we analyze a sentient being, we see that the rupa aggregates refer to the physical body, the other four aggregates refer to the spiritual soul. The three factors of life, perception, action, Each thing has a special effect, so it is called the mind that owns the dharma - that is, the dharma that owns the mind. And consciousness is the self-nature of the mind, so it is called mind king. A being in the sensual and form realms has all five aggregates, but a being in the formless realm has only the four aggregates of feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness, but no form. Because this realm has no form. (Buddhist Studies Great Dictionary, Dinh Phuc Bao, p.582a). That is the way of definition according to the dictionary, and the definition of the sutra was preached by the Buddha to the Bhikkhus as follows: O monks, what is called form? Monks, being changed is called form. Changed what? Changed by cold, heat, hunger, by contact with flies, mosquitoes, sun and wind, etc., such changes are called colors. What is called longevity? Being felt should be called life. Feeling happy, feeling painful, feeling no pain is not happy. What is thought? To perceive means to perceive. Recognize the colors blue, yellow, red, white etc... so it's called perception. What is an onion? Action means making the current conditioned dharmas. Making form manifest with the property of form, feeling with the nature of feeling, formations with the nature of formations, and consciousness with the nature of consciousness, so it should be called formations. What is wake? Consciousness means discrimination. Distinguishing the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, salty, pale, etc... so called consciousness. (The Sayutta Nikāya, p.105) Further explanation of the five aggregates For ordinary people like us, because of our ignorance of self-grasping, we only find this body lovely, but we do not realize the dangerous nature to find out. method of liberation from its bondage. To guide us beyond delusion, to a place of peace, the Buddha expounded on sweetness, The danger and the means of liberation from the five aggregates of clinging are as follows: "Bhikkhus, what joy is born in form, which is the sweetness of form. The impermanence, suffering, and change of rupa are the danger of rupa. Those who have subdued and abandoned lust for form are those who have been liberated from form. It is the same with form, and so with feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.” (Dai Menopause, Central Business III, pp.123-5). Explaining Feelings Of the five aggregates, feeling is the most obvious stimulus or binding factor for us. In order to understand this issue, lay layman Visàkha asked the nun Dhammadinna to explain, and the nun answered quite thoroughly: "Sage Visakha, there are three feelings: a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling, and a non-painful, non-pleasant feeling. What is pleasant and pleasurable to the body and mind is a pleasant feeling. What is painfully felt by the body and mind, suffering is suffering. What is felt by the body and mind indifferently, without suffering or pleasure, is a feeling of neither pain nor pleasure. In the happy feeling, covetousness exists. In dukkha, aversion persists. In non-suffering and non-pleasant feelings, ignorance persists." And the nun added: "Visakha, a meditator who renounces sensual pleasures, renounces unwholesome dharmas, attains and abides in the first jhāna, a state of bliss born of detachment from sensual pleasures, possessing volition. Therefore, greed is given up, there is no longer any lingering greed that exists here. Then he thought: I will certainly attain and stay in the realm where the Saints are staying. Because of the aspiration towards that unsurpassed realm, contemplation arises. Therefore, aversion is given up, no more arbitrary anger exists here. Then he let go of pleasure, let go of suffering, put an end to joy and sorrow, which he had felt before, and attained and abided in the fourth jhāna—no pain, no pleasure, pure mindfulness. Therefore, ignorance is abandoned, there is no longer the constant ignorance that exists here” (Central Central Sutra I, pp.302-3). Examples of the Five Aggregates The above are definitions and explanations of the five aggregates and with particular emphasis on the feeling aggregates, we now look at examples for the five aggregates. a. The Five Aggregates Without Substance In order to make it easier for his disciples to grasp the false and unreal nature of the five aggregates, the Buddha gave examples of them as follows: "Form is likened to a pile of bubbles, nothing is empty. hard core. If people have eyes to look closely at that pile of water bubbles, they will see that it is empty, without substance. Life is compared to a bubble of water, which only appears on the surface of the water for a moment and then disappears. Thought is likened to a halo of the sun, which only appears at noon, and soon disappears. Onions are likened to the trunk of a banana tree, although it looks rough and plump. but when gradually peeling the sheath from the outside to the inside, it is impossible to find its hard core. Consciousness is compared to illusions made by magicians, which look funny, but are not real. (Sayutta Nikaya III, p.167) b. In order to dispel the wrong view of the monk Yaraka, the venerable Sāriputta skillfully presented the five aggregates with a rather unique example: “Suppose there is a malicious person who wants to do harm. someone, he pretended to be friendly and asked to serve beside that person. To gain his trust, he shows diligence, industriousness, stays up late, gets up early, works quickly, speaks sweetly, displays pleasant gestures. When the other person has put their trust in him. He then stalked to look for a favorable opportunity, when he lost his vigilance, he immediately killed him” (The Sautta Nikāya III, p.134). This example gives us a lesson to be wary of the five aggregates body. Normally we think that we have complete control over our mind and body, but in fact, many times we lose control over it, even being manipulated or hindered by it. make us slaves, unjustly passive. c. The Meaning of the Five Aggregates In the Southern Buddhist tradition, there is a story describing the meaning of the following five aggregates that is very popular: A man was lying under a mango tree - the mango tree represents the aggregates of color. He heard the sound of a mango falling: symbolizing the aggregate of life - he saw a ripe yellow mango - symbolizing the perception aggregate. He then got up and picked up the mango and ate it - symbolizing the aggregates. When he eats it, he knows well the taste of the mango fruit is sour or sweet - symbolizing the aggregate of consciousness. d. Ordinary people with respect to the 5 aggregates Ordinary people, because they are not close to the wise, If you don't study and practice the holy dharma, you should consider the 5 aggregates as self, and self as the 5 aggregates. Because the mind has not yet left greed and lust, the mind is still filled with delusion and craving. Therefore, they do not understand that the five aggregates are inherently impermanent, suffering, and not-self. Therefore, when these dharmas change and perish, they become pitifully sorrowful and distressed (Sutta III, 3). To imagine how ordinary people deal with the five aggregates, the Buddha gave a rather funny example as follows: "For example, a dog is tied by a rope to a strong pillar. Therefore, if it goes, it just goes around that pillar. If it stands, it just stands near that pillar. If it sits, it just sits near that pillar. If it lies, it just lies next to that pillar. In the same way, the ordinary person contemplates forms, thinking: This is mine, this is me, this is my self. Contemplation of feelings, thoughts, actions, and consciousness also think the same way. Therefore, if it goes, it just goes around these five aggregates of clinging. If it stands, it stands only near these five aggregates of clinging. If it sits, it just sits near these five aggregates of clinging. If it lies, it is just next to these five aggregates of clinging” (Sutta III, p.180). The following are misconceptions that we ordinary people often have: the five aggregates are impermanent and considered permanent. The five aggregates are suffering, which is supposed to be joy. The five aggregates are not-self, which is said to have a self. The five aggregates are conditioned dharmas without knowing that they are conditioned dharmas. The five aggregates are murderers who claim to be best friends. e. Noble disciples to the five aggregates Noble disciples by being close to the Saints, studying and practicing the Dharma of the Saints, therefore, they do not consider form to be mine, me, or my self; do not regard feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness as mine, as me, as my self. As a result, they have no body view (that there is a real body). Noble disciples know that the five aggregates are impermanent, suffering and selflessness. Therefore, for any aggregate of past, present or future, internal or external, gross or subtle, precious or convenient, they use wisdom to observe and see: this is not mine, this is not me, this is not my self. By contemplating with such lucid wisdom, they are born with boredom of the five aggregates. Because of boredom, there is no craving, because there is no craving, one is liberated. Then genuine wisdom arises, they know that they are liberated. While liberated, they know that rebirth has ended, the holy life has been accomplished, the work to be done is done, there is no going back to another life. (Central Central Sutra I, p.138). The experiences of contemplating to see clearly the truth of the five aggregates and to be free from their bondage were presented by the monk Vakkali to the Buddha, when he was in severe pain: World-Honored One, form is impermanent, what is impermanent is suffering. What is impermanent and suffering is subject to change. I have no doubts about this. Therefore I have no greed, no lust, no attachment to forms. White World Honored One! Feelings, perceptions, actions, and consciousness are impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering, what is impermanent and suffering must be subject to change. I have no doubts about this. Therefore, I have no desire, no liking, no attachment to the five aggregates. (Sutta Samadhi III, p.147). When a bhikkhu has attained Nirvana, if there is a feeling of pleasure, he will rightly realize: This feeling is impermanent, should not be preoccupied, is not something to be joyful about. If there is a feeling like feeling or neither pain nor pleasure, he feels it with an unattached mind. When he perceives this body as ultimate, or this life as ultimate, he understands that after the dissolution of the body, death, all sensations become salient (cool, comfortable). (Central Central Sutra III, p.462). Through the definitions of the five aggregates, the example of the five aggregates, the five aggregates for ordinary people and the five aggregates for the noble disciple above, perhaps we have understood what the five aggregates are. These materials are mostly taken from the original canon, which seems a bit dry, even difficult to digest for us. However, we must admit that what is presented about the five aggregates here is not outside of the Guru's personal experience. It was through the realization of the principle of not-self for the five aggregates that he attained Unsurpassed Perfect Enlightenment. On the full moon day in May 623 BC, Indian Prince Shakyamuni, was born in the district of Nepal. He took on his own mission to be the greatest Guru in the world. Raised in luxury, Having received an education suitable for a Prince, he married and had children like everyone else. His contemplative nature and boundless compassion did not allow him to enjoy the temporary material pleasures of the palace. He has no sufferings, but deeply sympathizes with the sufferings of mankind. In the midst of affluence and prosperity, he recognized the universal suffering. The castle with all its mundane entertainment was no longer a suitable place for the benevolent Prince. The time was ripe for Him to go. Realizing the illusory nature of sensual pleasures, at the age of 29, he renounced all worldly pleasures, put on the simple yellow robe of an ascetic, alone, empty-handed, traveling here and there. to seek truth and peace. It was an unprecedented breakthrough in history; because he was not ordained in old age but in his youth, not in poverty but in affluence. Since ancient times, it was believed that liberation could not be achieved unless one lived a life of severe asceticism, he endeavored to practice all the most severe forms of mortification. “Effort after effort, asceticism after asceticism,” he made extraordinary efforts for six long years. His body was almost a skeleton. The more torturing the body, the further away His purpose is aimed. The harsh practices leading to suffering, which he attempted to practice, proved to be a complete failure. Now, from personal experience, he fully believes that mortification is utterly futile, only weakening the body and, as a result, the mind becoming sluggish. Harnessing her own invaluable experience, In the end, he decided to follow the path of independence, avoiding two extremes: licentiousness and mortification. Liberal living slows down the spirit and mortification weakens the mind. The new path he discovered was the Middle Way, which later became a prominent feature of his teachings. At the age of 35, on a good morning, when he was deep in meditation, without any supernatural power to guide and help, but only relied on his own efforts and wisdom, He eradicated all defilements, purified himself, thoroughly understood the true nature of all things, and attained enlightenment. He was not born an Enlightened One, but he became an Enlightened One by his own efforts. He fully embodies all the qualities he preaches with profound wisdom coupled with boundless compassion; He devoted the rest of his noble life to the service of mankind, by living an exemplary and virtuous life without any personal motives. After 45 years of fulfilling his noble vocation, the Buddha like everyone else, obeying the strict law of impermanence, finally passed away at the age of 80. He advised his disciples to see the Dharma as their own Guru. Buddha was originally a human being, he was born as a human being, lived as a person and also ended his life as a person. Although he was a person, he became an extraordinary person, but he never considered himself to be a god. The Buddha once emphasized this important point and did not let anyone misunderstand that he was an immortal god. Fortunately, there is no deification in the case of the Buddha. However, It must be seen that no Master has ever "been atheist like the Buddha, nor has anyone been so godlike". Buddha is not the embodiment of the Hindu god Vishnu as some believe, nor is he an almighty savior who saves others by his own power. The Buddha advised his disciples to rely on themselves for liberation, because purity and defilements depend on them. To clarify his relationship with his disciples and emphasize the importance of relying on oneself and individual efforts, the Buddha clearly taught that: "You must exert yourself, the Tathagatas are only the Masters". The Buddha shows the way, and it is our duty to follow that path so that we can be pure ourselves. “Relying on others for liberation is negative, relying on ourselves is positive.” Relying on others means giving up your own efforts. To encourage his disciples to rely on themselves, the Buddha taught in the Parinibbana Sutta: "Take yourself as an island, take yourself as a refuge, do not seek refuge. lean on others”. These teachings are full of self-advocacy. How vividly they manifest one's own efforts to achieve one's own ends; on the contrary, how futile it is to seek the salvation of benevolent saviors, or vain desires for happiness in an incarnation with unanswered prayers and meaningless rituals. Moreover, the Buddha did not claim exclusively Enlightenment, in fact it is not the prerogative of a person of his own grace. He has reached the highest level of perfection that man can expect, was a very open guru. He opened the only straight path to Buddhahood. According to the teachings of the Buddha, anyone, (with proper effort) can aspire to attain full Enlightenment. The Buddha did not consider all human beings to be lowly, on the contrary, he encouraged them, saying that their souls were originally pure. In His view, this human world is not entirely evil, but is deluded by ignorance. Instead of disappointing his disciples and keeping only the sublime state for himself, he encouraged and led them to follow him, for buddha nature is latent in all sentient beings. By a certain definition, all sentient beings are Buddhas in progress. A person who aspires to become a Buddha is called a bodhisattva (Bodhisatta) which means sage. This bodhisattva ideal is the best and noblest way of life ever raised in this selfish world, for there is nothing more noble than living pure and serving. As a person, he attained Buddhahood and declared to the world the transcendental potentials and creative powers of man. Instead of placing an invisible almighty God over people, arbitrarily controlling the destiny of mankind, making them slaves to a transcendent power, He exalts the value of humanity. He himself taught that man can attain liberation and purity by self-effort without depending on an external God or other intermediary priests. It is He who has taught this selfish world the noble and selfless ideal of service. It was He who fought against the corrupt class, taught the equality of mankind, gave equal opportunity to all, so that they may raise themselves up in all worldly ways. He declared that the doors to success are open to everyone in all life conditions and circumstances – high or low, saint or criminal, for those who want to turn a new page in history and wish to achieve success. to completion. Regardless of color, race and class, he founded an assembly of both men and women, celibacy and democracy. He did not force his disciples to depend on his teachings or on himself, but allowed them complete freedom of thought. He encouraged the unfortunate with words of comfort. He heals the sick and outcasts. He helps the poor and helpless. He exalts the lives of afflictions, and purifies the lives of sin. He encourages the weak, reconciles the divided, enlightens the confused, awaken the occult priests, guide the honest, uplift the lowly, and raise the dignity of the noble. All the rich and the poor, the saints and the common people, have one love for Him. True and tyrannical kings, famous and unknown noble princes, generous and miserly millionaires, humble and haughty scholars, the poor and destitute, the emptied garbage collectors. trampling, brutal murderers, scorned prostitutes – all benefited from his compassionate and wise teachings. His great example is an inspiration to all. His simple serene figure is a tender image to devout eyes. His mission of peace and tolerance was welcomed by all with indescribable joy, and those who are fortunate enough to hear and practice the wonderful dharma will gain eternal benefit. Wherever his teachings penetrated, they left an indelible impression on the various characteristics of those peoples. The cultural advancement of all peoples follows Buddhism thanks to his wonderful teachings. Indeed, all Buddhist countries like Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Nepal, Tibet, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan etc. have all grown up in cradle of Buddhism. Although this Great Teacher passed away over 2500 years ago, his unique personality still has a strong influence on all who have ever known him. Iron will, profound wisdom, great love, boundless compassion, selfless service, historical renunciation, complete purity, His attractive personality, the miraculous methods used to propagate the teachings, and ultimately, his success - all these factors have made one in five people in the world today welcome the Buddha. as a supreme Guru. Paying full homage to the Buddha, Sri Radha-Krishna commented: “For Gautama Buddha, do we have a spiritual teacher from the East, influencing the lives and thoughts of mankind? give way to anyone and he is the founder of a religious tradition as far-reaching as any other. He belongs to the history of world thought, to the common heritage of educated people, and in terms of his impartiality, wisdom, moral zeal and spiritual enlightenment, he is certainly one of the greatest figures in history". Talking about the three greatest men in history, historian HGWells writes: “You clearly see through the Buddha that he was a relaxed, ardent, solitary man who fought for the light of truth - a living personality. moving, real, not a legendary figure. He has given humanity a universal message.” Many of our earliest and most modern ideas are in harmony with Buddhism. He taught that all suffering and disputes are caused by selfishness. Before one can become equanimous, one must give up a selfish lifestyle, or enjoy personal enjoyment, then one will identify with a noble person. Five hundred years before Christ, in another voice, the Buddha called on mankind to forget themselves. In some ways, He is closer and more relevant to our needs. Saint Hilaire observes: "The Buddha was the perfect model of the virtues he taught... His life was spotless." Fausboll said, “The more I know Him, the more I love Him.” And a humble follower of His might add, “The more I love Him, the more I know Him.” (Excerpt from BUD-DHISM INANUTSHELL, Narada Thera). On the day of Buddha's enlightenment, PL 2538 CIVILIZATION OF THE MEDITATION DOOR Buddhism Buddhism has been present in our country for nearly 2000 years of history. Through many ups and downs, Buddhism has always existed as a reality accompanying the forward flow of the Vietnamese nation. How does Buddhism have such a skillful tolerance and adaptability? Is that the beauty, is the civilized lifestyle that used to be latent in the Zen sect? We all know that there is a Buddhist way of life that is very close and close to everyone, that is the sound of temple bells. Because the temple bell is not an ordinary bell but a common rose or a common rose, meaning a large bell. Because its cry reverberates throughout the Dharma Realm, even in the most remote and darkest hells can be heard. Therefore, the pagoda does not call the bell ringing, but calling the bell, which means that the person doing that task must have an attitude of respect, reverence, dress decently, come to the bell and hold a wake stick. bell, invites that bell to fly through space to every home to wake up those who are still in a dream: the ancient Dharma returns to the dream world. Sans general guy broke the giant lung. Meaning: The Dharma drum sounds like a dream, the temple bells shake everywhere. Therefore, no matter where the romantics wander, every time they hear the bell, they must be startled: From time to time there is a sound of crickets. Guests are startled in a dream. Like bells, we must also have a respectful attitude towards drums, because it is a Dharma drum (ancient dharma), not an ordinary drum; and that sound is called the sound of the Prajna drum. Because, it has the ability to make listeners promote their own intelligence. So in the old days, some temples used to have the custom of beating drums every morning, called Turning drums, as the above verse described. Not only bells and drums of Zen houses often carry a noble meaning called Dharma tools, ie tools to convey the Dharma, but other concepts such as compassion are also sublimated to become Magnetic Boat: Boat from a playing card. The bare tank carries a few people who are depressed. Because it has the ability to transport sentient beings to the shore of peace. However, that concept is also sometimes called the door of compassion: Reciting the Namo Buddha rosary is how much merit and virtue the door of compassion is. Such is the virtue of compassion, but the virtue of wisdom or Prajna is also a very common virtue, and the way to use it is also manifold. When it comes to drums and boats, it's called Prajna drums, Prajna Boats; But when talking about torches, people call them wisdom torches: Light a torch of wisdom on a dark road. And sometimes it is also called the sword of wisdom: Letting go of the fire of enlightenment, burning down all the evil forests of the past. Holding the sword of wisdom, sweeping away the present consciousness. Besides, the naming of the meditator also has a special nuance; For example, monastics often call themselves by humble and humble titles such as: poor religion, poor monk, which means a poor monk, or called a mourner, a teacher wearing a patchwork shirt. However, that poverty is not miserable and difficult, but rather self-sufficient, that is the poverty that Zen master Huyen Giac revealed: Together with Thich Tu, speaking of poverty, real life is poor, religion is not poor. The principle of the body is often non-flood of particles, the Dao principle of the mind is priceless and precious. Meaning: Together with Thich Tu, confessing poverty with his mouth. In fact, the body is poor, the religion is not poor. The new poor often wear patchwork. But the mind latent pearl beads. Also because he identified himself as a poor monk, he chose to live a life of begging, as a mendicant traveling here and there, begging for food of good faith to feed his body through the day. But the maintenance of the ephemeral false body is only a secondary thing, a means, and the main purpose is to beg for the Holy Teaching to grow the dharmakaya, wisdom of life. The wisdom of life that Zen Master Huyen Giac called priceless, an extremely precious jewel. It was for the sake of begging for this treasure that our Guru gave up the throne of a human king to take the throne of a Dharma King. And when he attained the position of Right Enlightenment, he lived an ordinary and simple life: One of the Eight Heavenly Family Sanctuaries, She lived a life of ten thousand reasons. The period of life and death, the teaching of spring and autumn. Meaning: A bowl of asking for a thousand homes, Single travel ten thousand miles away. Because of the great matter of birth and death, Bringing people beyond Ta-she. Therefore, begging for alms is not selfish - for the sake of food and clothing - but for the sake of altruism, to create opportunities for sentient beings with good intentions to have a good relationship with the Buddhadharma. make them spend a little bit of wealth as a catalyst to cultivate the seeds of wisdom that sprout. Once wisdom grows, we have a chance to reach the Pure Land; Pure Land according to the presentation of the Truc Lam nun: Pure land is pure heart, No doubt asked about the West, Amitabha is the shining nature, Chi has to work hard to find Ultimate Bliss. Furthermore, the benefactor offers to the bhikshus gifts not by means of a careless gesture, such as giving a favor, but on the contrary by a gesture of respect and courtesy, which is called an offering. Actually offering means providing things to nourish, but here it is sublimated to a higher level to match the meaning and position of the giver and the receiver. Therefore, the donor is the bearer of the favor, and the receiver is the true giver of the favor. That is an unusual thing. But, all Buddhists fully grasp the meaning of offering, they make this offering sincerely, and with reverence. That speaks to the civilized nature of Buddhism. Because, in this world, there are many people who, although filled with gold, silver, and treasures, are in fact very poor and needy. What they are lacking is wisdom, the Holy Dharma, a true and incorruptible value that Supreme Enlightenment wants to impart to those who aspire. Therefore, when the Buddha preached, it was called turning the wheel of Dharma: turning the wheel of Dharma, or Dharma dance: pouring down a rain of Dharma. For the preacher with an impartial attitude, equality; and Dharma raindrops are also equal to all species, regardless of poverty, rich, large or small, not rejecting anyone. Otherwise, Those who receive the holy dharma are said to be indebted to the Dharma dance or indebted to the Dharma emulsion, that is, to be imbued with the rain of Dharma, or to drink the milk of the Dharma. This dharma milk can make people fresh, peaceful, and reduce their afflictions in the dusty place: Strangely enough, the smell of meditation has just a hundred brains and thousands of afflictions are clean. Drinks have such a magical effect, what about food? - The monastic when eating and drinking is not like ordinary people, so eating is called Life. That is, using vegetarian, frugal foods to temporarily maintain the illusory body and practice the path. Therefore, sometimes calling food a medicinal food, that is, seeing it as valuable as a medicine used to cure hunger and thirst, and to overcome worldly dangers to a place of peace. Therefore, cultivators often conceive of eating to live, not living to eat. We all know that birth, old age, sickness, Death is a general rule for all species. When born, each person has a karma that they have to accept, not having the right to choose. On the contrary, the Buddha appeared in the world, in terms of being the same as everyone else, but for the purpose is different. So the birth of the Buddha is not called Birth in a normal way, but is called Birthday, or Birthday. That is, he brings a good news, a good omen for all beings in this Saha world. Because he has a mission to use the light of truth to illuminate the world, to guide sentient beings across the river of confusion and suffering. It is a rare event that only occurs once every few thousand years, so the Buddha's birth is metaphorical by the image of a flower bowl - a blooming lotus. Because the lotus grows out of the mud, but it rises out of the mud, giving off a fragrant aroma. Also, The Buddha was born in the world of labor and suffering, but he achieved unsurpassed Bodhi. There is birth and there is death, that is natural. The concept of death (death) is a concept with the most names in the Buddhist language. The interesting thing is that when it comes to death, Buddhists do not show any qualms, fear, but very serene, natural, even speaking with the opposite meaning. For example, when a Buddhist dies, people don't call it death, death, etc., but it's called rebirth, or super birth, which means being born in another realm, or being born in a higher realm. . It is about the case of Buddhists; However, when the monks die, they are called passing away, passing away or passing away, that is, they have achieved silence, have ended all sufferings, have completely calmed down in eternity. Therefore, Zen Master Tu Minh spoke about the concept of birth and death in a very poetic way: Birth is like a winter blanket, death is like taking off a summer shirt. Try to ask if it's cold and covered with a cotton blanket, in the hot summer, when you can take off your shirt, what's more interesting! Moreover, sometimes death is also called willow, willow path, entering Nirvana. That is, the stream of birth and death has ended, the path has been completed, has returned to the peaceful realm - rid of the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. There are times when it's called chemistry or zazen, which means that you've been transformed, or you can sit peacefully and transcend. Then the word is concretized as talk of lost flower - lotus flower has fallen and drifted away; or Chic Ly Tay Quy - swing a sandal back to the West Heaven. This story is to recall the legend that To Dat Ma after his death, people met him turning a slipper back to Thien Bamboo. Finally, let's talk about the concept of Impermanence, Selflessness are concepts imbued with Buddhist identity. Although some people mistakenly believe that Buddhism looks at life with a pessimistic attitude, seeing everything is impermanent and non-self; But in fact, Buddhism is not only not pessimistic but also not optimistic, but just honest, that is, seeing all things as they really are. Because of understanding the truth of all dharmas, which are inherently illusory, Zen masters are very calm and free, daring to forget themselves to work for the benefit of sentient beings with a great compassion, as the preface of the Old Tomb Sutra shows. : The world is separated from birth and death, Due to like space flowers. Wisdom is not real, Nhi has great compassion. Meaning: Life separates birth and death Like flowers spotting in the air Because there is no seeing, There is great compassion. THE GENERAL EDUCATION BUDDHA From ancient times until now great men were born, always leaving humanity with noble careers, and invaluable contributions. Shakyamuni's incarnation, bringing the message of salvation to earth is a great event in human history. From the time of conception to the time he was born in Lumbini garden, there are many rare stories woven around his life. Then when he reached adulthood, he proved to be a genius, with an outstanding personality. But, the greatest event that changed his golden life was the times he walked through the four gates of the city, witnessing old age, illness, death and the transcendent appearance of a Taoist. Since then he found a way out of suffering to save himself and save all living beings. After many nights of thinking, he decided to go beyond the monastic life to find a way, give up a luxurious life, and accept an ascetic lifestyle for 6 years. In the end, he achieved enlightenment, clearly seeing the truth of equality among all people. He declared: "All people are born with equal values, there can be no discrimination between those whose blood is the same red, tears are salty." The statement was as a challenge to the class distinctions in India at that time. This state of discrimination is a pain that weighs heavily on the hearts of all people of conscience in society. The Ahamma Sutra tells that the Brahmin Brahmin Brahmin braggedly declared: "The Brahmin caste is the noblest of all castes." In order to style that same gross presumptuous attitude, the Buddha said: “If a Brahmin were to kill, people would call him a murderer; if he steals, people will call him a thief; If he lied, people would call him a liar, etc., and his former Brahmin name would no longer exist. Otherwise, If a person of the Vesak or Thuda caste has profound education and great virtue, people will call him a scholar or a moralist. Then, the true worth of each person does not depend at all on his life class, but on his own talents and virtues." This affirmation has the power to awaken the unreasonable pride of the brahmins and at the same time dispel the inferiority complex of the Vessa and Thuda castes, pulling people closer together, in a spirit of humanity, full of humanity. Not only did the Master wholeheartedly defend those who had endured much injustice and contempt, but he also cared to teach the young Thien Sinh about the meaning of bowing to the six directions. The Buddha explained that these six directions are symbolic of the six relationships of responsibility between each social class. That is: relationships between teachers and students, father and son, husband and wife, friends, master and servant, and guru and disciple. Because of her pride in her family background, the bourgeois daughter-in-law The Lonely Man showed a lack of respect for her husband's parents. On the occasion of visiting the bourgeois family, the Master called her up, explaining in detail about the duties of the bride to her husband's family. After being kindly instructed by the Buddha, she was deeply moved, respectfully obeyed, and became a filial daughter-in-law. The Buddha also reminded Buddhists to work diligently to earn genuine money, and to know how to use the property reasonably and usefully. Thus, it proves that the Buddha always cared about everyone and all issues related to social security. He wishes to build a just society, all citizens are equal, everyone is happy, and human dignity must be thoroughly respected. These are the very legitimate dreams of all revolutionaries from time immemorial, and perhaps forever after. However, the Buddha's mission did not stop there. If only for the purpose of bringing food to everyone, then as a Crown Prince - and will be a king - he has all the power to make society better. in all respects as desired. Then why did he have to give up the throne of a human king in exchange for the throne of a Dharma King? Not only is the Dharma King but also the Supreme Medical King (ie a king of the ultimate physician). This is the highest value of the Buddha. His teachings have proven to be miraculous medicines that can cure all psychological ailments of sentient beings. Because, As a sentient being, there is no one who is not sick. Once, Buddha said: "In this world, there are many people who do not have disease in their whole life, but there is not a single person who does not have a sick mind." That mental illness is greed, anger, blindness, arrogance, selfishness, fear, freedom, etc. Only when these unwholesome afflictions are overcome will the soul become peaceful. happiness, wisdom, and good qualities such as tolerance, compassion, wisdom, humility, forgiveness, fearlessness, diligence, etc. will arise one after another. The Buddha went through arduous experience, painstakingly tempered, and finally he conquered himself, eliminated all diseases, and attained Unsurpassed Enlightenment. By that unsurpassed enlightenment, the Buddha has full power and means to conquer and touch people. Because, only those who really know how to swim can lead others to swim across the river; Only those who are cured can save those who are critically ill. Equal to the opposite: If this body can't be saved, who else's body can be saved? If I can't cure my disease, how can I cure other people's diseases? (Try not to harm the body? Self-illness is unable to save or save the patient?) The Master's transcendent wisdom and great compassion have the power to move others in an extraordinary way. Therefore, in the ranks of the Buddha's disciples, as well as at home, there are all kinds of people: From the lowly and lowly to the regal, the son; from criminals and prostitutes to honest and virtuous people; from the wise kings to the powerful pagan patriarchs. All are harmonious and equal under the sun of wisdom, All are imbued with the taste of nectar of Dharma dance. The Buddha's sublime personality and profound and wonderful teachings discovered by him are powerful enough to transform the foolish into wisdom, the wicked into holiness, the disappointed find hope, the suffering. become peaceful. The golden light of the Way not only shined throughout India, but also gradually spread throughout the 5 continents; Not only enlightened in His time, but handed down forever. Those who are fortunate enough to receive and use the power of the Dharma will bring practical benefits to themselves and build a powerful nation. King Ashoka became an Emperor with great merit, making the Indian people forever grateful. King Ly Thai To, Tran Thai Tong of Vietnam we have The Buddha's sublime personality and profound and wonderful teachings discovered by him are powerful enough to transform the foolish into wisdom, the wicked into holiness, the disappointed find hope, the suffering. become peaceful. The golden light of the Way not only shined throughout India, but also gradually spread throughout the 5 continents; Not only enlightened in His time, but handed down forever. Those who are fortunate enough to receive and use the power of the Dharma will bring practical benefits to themselves and build a powerful nation. King Ashoka became an Emperor with great merit, making the Indian people forever grateful. King Ly Thai To, Tran Thai Tong of Vietnam we have The Buddha's sublime personality and profound and wonderful teachings discovered by him are powerful enough to transform the foolish into wisdom, the wicked into holiness, the disappointed find hope, the suffering. become peaceful. The golden light of the Way not only shined throughout India, but also gradually spread throughout the 5 continents; Not only enlightened in His time, but handed down forever. Those who are fortunate enough to receive and use the power of the Dharma will bring practical benefits to themselves and build a powerful nation. King Ashoka became an Emperor with great merit, making the Indian people forever grateful. King Ly Thai To, Tran Thai Tong of Vietnam we have The golden light of the Way not only shined throughout India, but also gradually spread throughout the 5 continents; Not only enlightened in His time, but handed down forever. Those who are fortunate enough to receive and use the power of the Dharma will bring practical benefits to themselves and build a powerful nation. King Ashoka became an Emperor with great merit, making the Indian people forever grateful. King Ly Thai To, Tran Thai Tong of Vietnam we have The golden light of the Way not only shined throughout India, but also gradually spread throughout the 5 continents; Not only enlightened in His time, but handed down forever. Those who are fortunate enough to receive and use the power of the Dharma will bring practical benefits to themselves and build a powerful nation. King Ashoka became an Emperor with great merit, making the Indian people forever grateful. King Ly Thai To, Tran Thai Tong of Vietnam we haveskillfully applied a humanistic Buddhist politics to build the country, making the country prosperous. Those were the golden periods of history that the Vietnamese people always remember and wholeheartedly admire. Because those kings were true Buddhists, honest revolutionaries, before making a social revolution, they had to make a real and true revolution by themselves to be able to successfully build the revolutionary industry. Through history, we see the case of King Qin Shi Huang of China who once had the merit of gathering six countries into one term, but after reunifying the country, he arose ambitions to blindly burn books and bury his students. , do cruel, heartless things. In the end, he was defeated, listed, and his reign was quickly collapsed, leaving a laugh in the eternal green history. The French Revolution of 1789, was initially motivated by the very legitimate motives of demanding social justice, and the equal rights of all. However, there are some politicians who, after taking power, become dictatorial, selfish, and pervert the noble revolutionary purpose. In the end, they went to the scaffold to pay the price for their sinful acts in the presence of the people. That is enough to see, if you want to rule the country and pacify the world, first of all, you have to stay home, cultivate your body and have a righteous mind. Never in human history have we seen a person who has not cultivated his body and mind, but has not been able to fully benefit others. Therefore, Buddhism advocates first to cultivate oneself to become pure, and then to serve others effectively. The example of the Buddha is an example, he taught: "From the time I attained enlightenment to the time of Nirvana, whatever I say is true, words are true to deeds, deeds are true to words; only say what is right, right, and has practical benefits.” He showed us that every human being has the ability to move upwards, to be able to purify the body and mind, to develop clear wisdom, and to cultivate a perfect personality. Therefore, the Master is praised by the world: "The Blessed One is like a man who rebuilds what has fallen, reveals what is hidden, shows the way to those who have lost their way, brings light into the darkness to bring light to those who have lost their way. those who have eyes can see forms.” Indeed, he once defended those who were persecuted, pointed out the transcendental value of everyone, led people out of the river of delusion, opened the eyes of blind people with wrong views, and brought them back to the true path. . In ancient history, so many people bathed in the sea of ​​Dharma and became clean, Through the light of wisdom lights the way to cure the disease of blindness, by drinking the nectar of nectar, suffering dissipates, becoming immortal. The aspiration to be free from all suffering, to gain wisdom, to be at peace in the midst of the eternal stream of birth and death is the constant desire of all human beings. From time immemorial, in any historical situation where national traditions are forgotten, social morality is degraded, beliefs are crisised, spiritual values ​​are despised, it is at that moment. , those desires resurfaced even more intensely. Today, science and technology have made great progress, material civilization is nearing its peak, people enjoy extremely complete amenities, but humanity still feels confused, agitated and thirsty. yearning for an immortal spiritual value. Is that the time when the presence of Buddhism is needed more than ever, to give appropriate answers to pressing problems of human society? 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.24/7/2022.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH. .