Hanh Nhat Sat Thuc. The next first practice is the practice of one-seated food. That means eating food in just one sitting. “When a practitioner of one-seated food sits down in the hall, instead of sitting in the seat of an elder, he should pay attention to which seat is suitable for him and sit down there.”1 In the monastery there is There are many monks residing and there is a monk, then the monks sit in the order below. He must go there a little early and try to find a sitting position where he will not have to give it up to some monk who is superior to him. The Bhikkhus sit in descending order. After he has sat down, “if the priest or teacher comes and the meal has not ended (He has sat down and is still eating), he is allowed to stand up and perform his duties. ”2 Actually, not only is it permissible, but one should or must rise up and perform the duties. We have obligations to teachers and preceptors. If we are sitting and the teacher or priest comes in, we must stand up and welcome him and do whatever we can to bring him peace. If a bhikkhu is sitting and taking food, his teacher or preceptor comes in and he is a monk, he should stand up and perform his duty. After standing up, he must not eat anymore. “But the Elder Tipiṭaka Cūla-Abhaya said: 'He should either keep his seat (and finish his meal) or (if he stands up, he should leave) his meal (so as not to vain conduct)'.” That person can do either of those two things. He can ignore his responsibilities towards his teachers and continue eating, or he should get up and fulfill his responsibilities towards his teachers and leave the meal unfinished. “And this is the one whose meal is not yet completed; therefore, let him carry out his responsibilities, but in that case he should not eat the rest of the meal.”1 This is what the Elder said. Student: How long will a bhikkhu practice these abbots? Lecturer: As long as that person wants. There is no fixed time. Student: How often does this practice happen, is it common? Lecturer: Currently, it is very rare, not common. Monks nowadays do not practice much astrology. Among the thirteen Dau Da virtues, the ones most practiced by monks are the one sitting on food, the one eating from a bowl, sometimes the one in the cemetery, sometimes the one at the base of a tree, but there is no practice. Castle. Student: Do you choose to practice one practice at a time, or two or three at a time? Teacher: You can practice two or three or four practices at a time. We will discuss this issue later. It is noted that if you can find a suitable place such as a place in the open sky near a cemetery, you can practice all thirteen dhamma practices at the same time. The Venerable Mahā Kassapa is recorded to have practiced all thirteen dhamma practices throughout his life.He is the most sublime among the monks. “A serious practitioner (higher) is not allowed to take/receive anything other than the portion of food that he has placed/held out his hand to receive, no matter how little or how much it is. And if people bring him butter, etc., thinking: 'The Elder has not eaten anything', then while these things are permissible for purposes such as medicine, medicine, but they are not allowed to be used as food.”1 They are allowed to be used as medicine, but not as food. “The intermediate practitioner can receive more food if there is still food in the bowl (ND: that is, as long as there is still food in the bowl, he can still receive more food); because that person is called 'one who stops eating when there is no more food'. The lower practitioner can enjoy it until he gets up from his seat. That taste is 'the taste of stopping (eating food) with water' because he eats until he takes (water to) wash the bowl, or 'the taste of stopping (taking food) with time' because he eats until he That person stood up.” There is a joke in the monastic community that you can sit from morning until noon and eat as much as you want. If you keep the sitting position, you can sit from morning until noon. “The benefits are these. That person has few worries and few illnesses; he has serenity, strength and a happy life; there is no violation (of laws) regarding food that is not leftovers from a meal (I will talk about this later); His life is compatible or compatible with (the rules of) abstinence, and so on.”2 These are the benefits for the one who practices one-seated abstinence. 7. The Hanh of Eating a Bowl The first step is the Hanh of eating a bowl. This is not easy at all. You use only one bowl when you eat food. “At the time of sipping the porridge, the monk eats from the bowl of curry placed on the plate. He can either eat the curry first or sip the porridge first.” That person is allowed not to eat both at the same time. That taste could be to drink porridge first and then eat fish curry. “If he puts it (curry) in porridge, the porridge will become disgusting when mixed with curry made with processed fish, etc.” In Burma, we have what is called 'fish pate'. It's very foul. “Therefore, this is allowed just so that it can be used without making it disgusting. From there, this is presented as such for such type of curry. But for those that are not disgusting, such as molasses, sugar, etc., you have to put them in. And he should take it in moderation.” “It is permissible to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables with one hand and eat them.” But he 'should not do so', not 'unless'. “But he shouldn't do that because they should be put in the bowl.” 'Unless he does so' is not correct here. Although he can take or put vegetables and fruits in his hand, it is not appropriate for him to do so. He should put it in the bowl. “Because that person refused to use the second bowl,Therefore, he is not allowed to use anything else, even leaves.”1 Sometimes, people use leaves as a bowl or as a container to hold things. Even that is not allowed. There are three ranks or steps. “Here, for the superior (exemplary) practitioner, except when eating sugarcane, the rest (while eating) is not allowed to throw away trash; And while eating, you are not allowed to break rice, fish, meat and cakes into small pieces. (Garbage should be thrown away and rice balls, etc., should be broken into small pieces before starting to eat.) The intermediate taste of onions is allowed to break them into pieces with one hand while eating and that taste is called 'the taste of onions'. manual asceticism'. The lower level practitioner is called 'the bowl-based ascetic'; anything that can be placed in his bowl, he is allowed to break (rice balls, etc.) with his hands or (bite things like cubed sugar, ginger, etc.) with his inner teeth. when eat." “The moment one of these three types of practitioners agrees or accepts the use of the second bowl, his practice of datu-dadha is broken.” Therefore, that person can only use one bowl. In our country, after eating a meal, we drink water. It is such a custom or habit. When we want to drink water, we pour water into a bowl and drink from the bowl. So, when I see people meditating in the Buddhist tradition in Japan eating from a bowl, washing the bowl, and then drinking from the bowl, I am reminded of this practice. Perhaps there is some connection with this Dau Da practice. Here, this alms oil must be used in just one bowl. You put everything in one bowl and eat from that bowl, including water and other drinks. “The benefits are these. Desire for different tastes is eliminated; Excessive expectations are abandoned; That person sees the purpose of food and the right amount of food.”1 'The right amount of food' is the excess fluid, which should be thrown away. What is meant to be said here is that the person sees the immediate purpose in receiving food. The Buddha taught that monks should eat food not to boast about themselves or for pleasure, but just to live enough to be able to practice his teachings. That's the purpose of food. Here, I think 'food' is probably better and more correct than 'nutrients', although using the word 'nutrients' is not wrong. The purpose of eating food is not to beautify yourself, not to be proud of your strength and so on. Here, he eats from just one bowl, so he cannot have that kind of arrogance and other things. “He doesn't have to worry or be bothered with carrying pots, pans, etc.; His life is in harmony with the principles of few desires and so on.” One word was left out, not translated. The word means 'that taste is not influenced while eating'. Since he uses only one bowl, he does not have to look for other bowls. Therefore, that person is not influenced, that is, not confused. This word is omitted and not translated (in Venerable Ñāṇamoli's English translation).1 This is the practice of eating one bowl. 8.The conduct of not accepting wasted food The next first step is the conduct of not accepting leftover food, that is, not using excess food. This practice is a bit difficult to understand. When a monk takes food and if he refuses to take any more food, he is not allowed to take any more food after changing his position. Let's take for example I'm sitting and I'm eating. Someone came close and offered something to me. I said, “No, I don't want that. Such is enough." If I do that, then I can keep eating until I finish my meal. This is acceptable if I maintain sitting posture. If I stand up or if I walk around and then want to eat again, I am not allowed to eat again. An action related to the law (Vinaya) must be performed to enable me to eat (anymore). That is the meaning of the Dau Da practice of 'not accepting food waste'. As soon as I sit down, I am not seen as refusing anything. But after eating something, even just a bite, and then refusing it, if I change my position or posture, I cannot (i.e. am not allowed) to eat any other food. . A bhikkhu who observes this dhamma practice cannot consume food after making it permissible for his own use. Suppose I refuse (receive) the offering. If I want to eat after this change of position, I have to take that food to another bhikkhu, let him eat a little and then (he) says: “That is enough for me.” .” That means that food is now that person's leftovers. Then I can eat it (again). This feels like a punishment. You refuse and then you want to eat again. (So) you have to eat other people's leftovers. It is something like that. A bhikkhu who does not practice this dhāda can eat in that way if he wants to eat more. A Bhikkhu who practices this monkhood is not allowed to eat in this way. He must avoid bringing food to another bhikkhu and asking him to give (himself) the leftover food. That person cannot do that. That is what is meant here. I don't know where he got the words in square brackets from.1 They don't help much in understanding this. There are three levels here. “As for the first bite of food, there is no evidence that he has had enough, but while that first bite of food is being swallowed, there is evidence that he refuses subsequent or other bites of food. witness that he has had enough.”1 That is to say, this rule talks about a bhikkhu who refuses (receives more food) while eating or a bhikkhu who refuses (receives more food) after when you start eating. Thus, if that person has not eaten anything, there is no refusal here. He ate one bite and in the next bite he refused. Thus, there is only rejection at the second and subsequent bites. “Thus, when the superior practitioner shows that he has had enough (that is, he refuses to accept more food),That person does not eat the second bite.”2 He must stop eating there. That person only used one piece and then stopped. “The average practitioner continues to eat the portion of food that he has designated as enough for him.”3 Thus, the average practitioner can continue to eat. “But the lowly practitioner continues to eat until he gets up from his seat.”4 That means he can eat as much as he wants as long as he does not change his posture. This is related to a specific law. That rule says that if you refuse to accept something and then you want to eat it again, you must do something if you change your posture. That's why monks don't want to say 'no' when they are offered something. You can accept it even though you probably won't eat it. You don't want to say 'no' because that would lead to or mean refusal. (And if you refuse then) you cannot eat anymore after that (if you change your posture). Therefore, there is a thing called talking in circles. In Burma, we have an expression for this – which is to go around to avoid it. When someone offers something to me, I won't say 'no', but I will say: “It's done” or something like that. Sometimes, lay people do not know or understand the language of monks. So, I will say: “It's done” or something like that and the lay person may not know that I refuse to accept. Therefore, it is better to receive it and then we can leave it unused. This is the first practice of not using food waste. This early conduct is related to a rule in the Pāṭimokkha Precepts. It's good now. I think we should stop here. We will need two weeks to complete this chapter. Student: Are the other dhamma practices also from the Pāṭimokkha Precepts? Lecturer: No. These early actions are not from the Pāṭimokkha Precepts. Student: But you just said that this ascetic practice is from the Pāṭimokkha Precepts. Lecturer: This early practice is related to a rule in the Pāṭimokkha Precepts. The rule is that I am not allowed to eat if I refuse. Even though I refused, if I later want to eat it again, I can ask another monk to turn that food into waste (i.e. leftovers). If I practice this Dau Dao practice, I cannot do that. Student: From this, it seems that fasting is not a permissible practice. Lecturer: Fasting for everyone? Student: Just drink water. Lecturer: No. That's not allowed. Student: Not even within one, two or three days? Lecturer: If you want to fast, that's up to you, but that's not a practice because we have to eat to live. Fasting in Buddhism is only for half a day. When Buddhists observe the eight precepts, they do not eat from noon until the next morning. Student: If a monk does not receive alms in the morning, can he eat? (ND:As we understand, the student wants to know if the monk can eat after noon in that case.) Lecturer: Then you have to fast all day without eating. You are not allowed to eat after noon for any reason. Sometimes I have to fast while traveling. You know that meals are served on flights in the afternoon. Student: But in Burma, there probably isn't that problem. Lecturer: That's right, because in Burma, you always get enough food to eat. People are very generous. They were very pleased and happy to make offerings to the monks. So, in Buddhist countries, it is not a matter to worry about. But here and in other countries, it can be a concern. Student: Currently, costumes are made commercially. There are seasons or occasions for people to offer clothes. Lecturer: No. Actually, lay people make fabric, not robes. Currently is the season of offering Kaṭhina robes. Kaṭhina robes are different from ordinary robes. The difference is that we have to make these robes within one day. Suppose a lay person comes to the monastery and offers not a complete set of robes but fabric to use as a Kaṭhina robe. If we receive that fabric, we must complete it that day. That means that cloth must become the robe for that day. That was the case in the old days when ready-made robes were not available or people did not want to offer ready-made robes. In that case, all the monks in the monastery must work together. Some cook dyes. Some sew. Some cutting flavors and so on. Everyone must contribute. According to that tradition, in Burma today, people have a weaving festival. They borrowed or applied the phrase 'not stale, not old' to their weaving. They tried to weave from six o'clock in the evening until before dawn the next day. There's even a contest. The girls compete in weaving to make robes. I don't know how they choose the winner. In fact, the phrase 'not getting stale, not getting old' is used in the monastic community. That means we have to make the robe the same day the fabric is received. The fabric must not become 'stale' or 'old' the next day. We call such robes 'the robe that does not go stale' or 'the robe that does not get stale'. A 'non-stale' set of robes is one that is made on the same day the fabric is received. People today say that they are offering 'robes that do not spoil'. But actually, what they do is weave cloth and the monks have to make the robes. Nowadays, we are healthier because now there are ready-made robes and we don't need to do anything. But sometimes, people want the monks to do some things like they did in the old days. When I was living in Sagaing in Burma, the head of a monastery had an idea why we don't do what monks did in ancient days. So, he asked everyone to bring cloth to the monastery. A lot of work had to be done because even the smallest part of the robe had to be dyed two or three times,not just once. If it rains, it will be extremely difficult. Luckily we were in Upper Burma. We managed to finish on time. The product is not very dry, but it can be used as a set of clothes. That's why there are commercial robes. Nowadays, monks do not know how to make robes – what sizes the parts are and how to sew them together. Most monks today don't know those things. When I first came to this country, people asked me to order robes from Burma. I said why not do medicine here. So, I instructed them on the sizes of the robes. Student: What are the squares in the robe? Lecturer: Actually, they represent fields as recorded in the scriptures. Buddha is on a journey. He is on a mountain top. He looked down and saw the fields. You know that the fields in India are small, unlike the fields in the United States. Here, machinery was used, so the fields could be two or three miles long1. In India, a field is perhaps only ten or twenty yards wide2. Therefore, the Buddha saw the boundaries of the fields. Then he asked Venerable Ānanda if it was possible to make such clothes. Venerable Ānanda replied that he could do it. Therefore, Venerable Ānanda made clothes that resembled the patterns of the fields. For this set of robes, we usually have five parts. This is part. There's a bit of sewing involved here. Then there's another part. The third part is wider than the other two parts. Here there is a small little frame. There are two frames in one section. These boundaries must be cut out and then sewn together. But nowadays, they don't cut them out. They just fold and sew them. Student: The idea is that the monks collect pieces of cloth from everywhere. Lecturer: That's right. You may not get the right size fabric. You have to pick up small pieces of fabric and sew them together into a set of clothes. Student: Do people have to conform to stereotypes? Lecturer: Yes. This set of robes has more parts. Part numbers are odd – 7, 9, 11, 13, 15. Sādhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! 9. Forest Conduct Today we come to forest conduct. Before we study forest conduct, we need to understand which place is the forest and which place is the village, as compared to the forest. To understand the village, we need to understand the domain or environs of a house – what is the house, what are its environs, then the village, and then the forest. The village is the residence of humans. It can include just one house or multiple houses. It may or may not be surrounded by walls. Humans may or may not be living there at the present time. Even a mobile home1 is called “a village here if someone lives in it for at least four months. Such a place is called a 'village'.” Then the Visuddhimagga describes the environs of a village. You will find this in paragraph 48. The vicinity of a village is determined depending on whether the village is surrounded by a wall or not. It may have a wall surrounding it or have two village gates like the city of Anurādhapura in Sri Lanka. Anurādharupa is an ancient city. It was the capital of Theravāda Buddhism in Sri Lanka. In this city there was a very large monastery where Buddhaghosa went. He was given permission by the monks there to compile the Commentaries. It seems that at that place there are two village gates, one inside and one outside. One is not standing between the two village gates as shown in the translation (ND: English translation by Venerable Ñāṇamoli), but is standing at the inner village gate (So perhaps there are two village gates – one on the other side). outside and one inside) can throw a stone. Here there is a difference of opinion as to how the stone is thrown. Those who are experts and skilled in Vinaya believe that they should throw the stone as if they want to show off their strength. That is, they should throw the stone with all the strength they can muster. The place where the stone fell is called 'the vicinity of the village'. However, those who are experts and skilled in the Suttanta2 believe that the stone should not be thrown that way. You think it should be thrown like you chase away crows. You probably didn't use much force when you chased the crows away. The place where the stone fell in this way was in the vicinity of the village. This is for the case of a village with a wall around it. What about the village without walls? In this case, there must be a house on the edge. From the vicinity of the house on the edge, we must throw the stone in the same way as before. Thus we have the house, the vicinity of the house, the village, the vicinity of the village. Now, a person standing in the vicinity of the house threw a stone and it fell down. That's the village. Then we throw another stone, and when the other stone falls, it is in the vicinity of the village. This is for the case of villages without surrounding walls. The area outside that area is called 'forest' or 'forest'. What is the forest? According to the Law (Vinana), a 'forest' is a place other than a village and its vicinity. Student: Is 'vicinity' a border? Lecturer: It is not a border. It is an area belonging to the village. It is not the village territory, but it is the vicinity of the village, that is, the land of the village. Student: I think here they might call it the zone of influence or the zone of concern. Lecturer: It is land outside the village, but it is said or considered to belong to the village. Outside this area is what we call 'the forest' here. The forest is described differently according to Vinaya, Suttanta and Abhidhamma.We have three types of forests. According to the Law (Vinaya), the forest is the area outside the village and the vicinity of the village. According to Abhidhamma, the area outside the village gates, just outside the village gates, is called 'forest'. According to the Suttanta, there is another definition of village. We will have to follow the Suttanta method here. According to the Suttanta method, the forest is a place at least 500 times the length of the bow from the village or its vicinity. This bow should be the bow used by archery teachers. It must be a strong and sturdy bow. The strong and sturdy bow was said to be about four arms long1. That's about six feet2. So, we multiply 6 by 500 which is about 3,000 feet. Therefore, the forest is about 3,000 feet from the village or its vicinity. Such an area is the forest here. If the monastery in the forest does not have walls, then we must measure from the outermost building. From that building, we throw a stone. And then from where the stone fell, we throw another stone. The distance between two stone throws must be 3,000 feet. The method of throwing the stone is as presented in the Majjhima Nikāya and the Commentaries. Roughly speaking, the area called 'forest' must be approximately 3,000 feet or 1,000 yards away from human habitation3. If it were closer than that, it wouldn't be called 'forest'. In paragraph 50, there is the following sentence: “This is the measure or standard here.”1 The Pāḷi word used is 'pamāṇa', which can mean size or standard and can also mean means to obtain or to bring to correct understanding. In Hindu logic, there are many types of means to correct understanding – correct understanding by perception, by inference, by scriptures (i.e. authoritative texts) and so on. Here, 'size or standard' actually means power. So, this is power or authority. That is, we must rely on the Commentary of the Majjhima Nikāya. “It is said in the Majjhima Commentary that, ignoring the immediate vicinity of the monastery and the village, the distance to be measured is between the place where two stones fall.”2 This means that the stone fell from the monastery and the stone fell from the village. The distance between where the stones fall must be 500 times the length of the bow. Student: I don't think anyone can throw a stone 2,000 yards. Lecturer: No. It is 1,000 yards from the throws of the stones. One throw is not 1,000 yards or 500 lengths of the bow. You stand at the gate of the village and throw a stone. Then another person stood in the vicinity of the forest monastery and threw a stone. The distance between these two stones must be 1,000 yards. Student: Why does a religious text define such issues? Is it because they were the leading or ruling body at that time? Lecturer:It is not a measurement of governance or established by a competent leadership agency. I think if it was about 1,000 yards you could get some isolation. You didn't hear many sounds from the village in those old days. Nowadays you can hear noise everywhere – from airplanes, from radio transmitters. Nowadays it is extremely difficult to find places that we can truly call 'forest'. “Even if the village is nearby and the people in the monastery can hear the sounds of the people in the village, but if it is not possible to go directly to the village due to rocks, rivers and so on in between, then about 500 times the length of the bow can be seen or calculated by that route (i.e. by the usual route) even if we have to travel by boat.”1 It may be a winding road. , but if it is 500 times the length of the bow then it is accepted. “But the person who blocks the path to the village here and there for the purpose of (lengthening it so that it can be said that he is) practicing this dharma practice, he is deceiving.”2 From Pāḷi is used to mean thief; Thus, it means that the thief stole this quality of the Dau Da conduct. I think the rest is not difficult to understand. Those who follow the superiors must always see the dawn in the forest. He must be in the forest at dawn. An intermediate practitioner is allowed to live in the village during the four months of the rainy season. When the rainy season comes, he can live in the monastery. A follower can also live in a monastery (vihāra) during the winter months. Thus, this person is allowed to live in the monastery (vihāra) for four months in the rainy season and four months in the winter. This person practices this ascetic practice for only four summer months. This is the practice of following lower levels. The benefits are not difficult to understand. This is the Dau Da happiness in the forest. 10. Happiness at the Base of the Tree Next is the happiness at the base of the tree. That means living under a tree. He or she should avoid some of the specific plants presented here. He should avoid trees near the border because there may be war or conflict between two kings or two rulers of those areas. That person must avoid such a tree. He must avoid the temple tree because people gather around that tree. That person cannot attain seclusion. He should avoid plants with latex because it is dangerous. He should avoid trees with fruit, trees with bats, trees with hollow holes (A tree with hollow holes means a tree with holes where snakes and wild animals live), or trees standing right in the middle of the monastery. Many people visit the monastery and therefore, he may not be able to attain seclusion. He can choose a tree standing on the edge of the monastery (away from where people gather). That's the type of tree you have to choose. There are three levels. “Here, the superior practitioner is not allowed to clean (or have someone clean) the tree under which he chooses to live.”1 The superior practitioner must live there in the existing environment."That person can only use his feet to push away the leaves that fall while living there." That person must not make that place beautiful and attractive. “A middle-level practitioner is allowed to ask or request someone who happens to pass by or happens to visit to clean up that place. The lower monk can live there after gathering the monks or novice monks and asking them to clean, level, spread sand and make a fence with a door around the tree.”2 There is always three types of people. The moment he enters a covered place, that momentum is broken.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN ZEN BUDDHIST MONASTERY=DHARMA SISTER THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.14/5/2024.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=DHARMA SISTER THICH CHAN TANH.