Understanding thirteen chapters - Chapter 1: Giving pardon.

Chapter 1

Giving pagoda

Charitable giving is the first of the thirteen secrets. As we read about the definition of pāli.

Dana has a characteristic of dissipation; The function / function of charity is to repulse greed with what can be given; The manifestation / achievement of alms is not attachment, or achieve wealth and rebirth peacefully; The subject of alms is an object that can be ripped apart. "

Most people know that giving is giving for the benefit and happiness of others. Lay laity can not give away all of their possessions because they are attached to the lust, but when they have the opportunity to give, they should practice it. If we can not give for the sake of others the great and small things we possess, it will be even more difficult to renounce attachment to the nama and rupa whose self is self, birth and human. Therefore, we need to do as much good as possible, for the sake and welfare of others, in order to eradicate the afflictions, including attachment to wealth as well as to nama and rupa which We accept beings, human beings and self. Therefore, in the daily life, we should not neglect to cultivate palliative charity. We need to know whether our giving is a pālo or not. Regardless of how much we give, it is not a palliative if we do not see the essence of eradicating affliction.

Those who understand the Dharma and practice of generosity need to consider whether their giving is a pālo or not. If a benefactor does not expect any result, whether it is rebirth in the heaven, then his alms may be pāramitā. However, if a person wants to receive rewards when he or she wishes to reborn rich or reborn in the heavens, or if he or she wants to receive benefits, honor or praise, his or her life expectancy and his goal is not the eradication of defilements. If we meditate on this, we can know whether our giving at a particular time is a pālo or not.

Paternal charity is a condition for transcending the other shore, or in other words, the eradication of defilements, which is the opposite of the country of affliction. It takes an extremely long time to reach the shore where the afflictive annihilation takes place; It's not easy to get there. We need to understand clearly what eradicating defilement means. Therefore, we need to know whether at the moment of giving, we have something to look forward to. Giving away craving is a blessing for the purpose of eradicating afflictions, and that means that one should not expect any results.

In addition to imparting material wealth, there is greater generosity, that is, giving the Fa. That is actually a good intellectual gift for this life as well as in future lives. When we give material wealth to the poor, it only has a temporary effect. We may not consider the root cause of such poverty. Poverty is the fruit of akusala kamma, and so long as we create akusala kamma, there is still grace for rebirth in poverty.

Besides material help, we need to help people get to the root of their poverty, that is, to help them get the right knowledge of the truth of the Dharma. So we will see that we can really help each other in our daily life, with our donations as well as the Dharma. With Dharma, we help others to have proper knowledge of the Dhamma as well as how to apply it. Furthermore, helping people get the right understanding of the Dharma can be a predilection for their good deeds: generosity, morality and mental development.

So when a person who helps others understand the Fa in a variety of ways - through radio, printed books, conversations or sermons - without gaining anything for himself, he is practicing the word toothpick. At that time, his or her alms-giving activities are pāramas leading to the eradication of unhappiness. He has a solid understanding that the development of good deed not polluted by defilements is the development of pāramitā. Some people like to see the results of their good deeds. However, the actual outcome of a person's efforts is not related to the number of French listeners he or the amount of good deeds he has made for this purpose. The results of those efforts expressed in the minds of the listeners are now able to develop wisdom and apply the Dhamma better.

When a person listens to the Fa correctly, he accumulates the truth, and that is the truth of the pāramitā. He also accumulates the decision of the preexence when he has solid faith in his goal of eradicating affliction. We can evaluate the benefit of listening to the Fa at that moment: whether we accumulate more good deeds and reduce unwholesome ones?

There is another form of alms-giving (abhayadāna), which is alms-giving feeling safe from danger and fear.

I read the book " Increase in the business ", Chapter Eight French Food Giving, IX (39),  Water Resources Merit , about eight merit water: Three Refuges and in alms 1 . We read about this year of generosity as follows:

"Here, the bhikkhus, the Holy Disciples pass away killing, abandoned killing. The monks, the holy disciples abandoned killing, giving no fear for countless beings, giving no hatred for countless beings, so that harmless harmless countless beings; Without fear, no hatred, no harm, he will be shared unlimited with no fear, no hatred, no harm ... "

The same teachings are about the renunciation of theft, adultery, lying, and the use of intoxicants. Thus, gender can be considered in terms of giving. To give up doing harm to others, as well as giving protection from danger, is in the blame. Moreover, forgiveness is also considered a form of almsgiving 2 . When we forgive others, we do not drift away from our anger and hatred.

If one does not know that forgiveness is a pārama, he will not forgive the person who has done evil to him. If we do not forgive others, how can we attain enlightenment and eradicate afflictions? If we think about this, it can be a charm for the unbelievers. This form of generosity is higher than the merit of material wealth (āmisa dāna). If you can not forgive yourself for not loving, it also means that you can not cultivate other forms of goodness towards him. If I do not forgive a person or are still angry with him, I will not be gallant with him, I can not even give him material. I also can not give him the gift of Dharma by helping him through conversation, or admonishing him about the good and bad of life.

Impatience is a condition for the cultivation of the cliche (sīla paramī); It is a condition for the renunciation of parsimony and deviant language. If we do not forgive others, we will not behave like a friend and so good will can not develop. So how can we get to the other side, the shore of the eradication of affliction?

This shows that our consideration of the nature of goodness in daily life must be subtle. A person who develops wisdom who can realize the Four Noble Truths needs to know the nature of his mind; He needs to know when his mind is polluted and has no strength. In such a case, how can one travel on the eternal path of the Noble Eightfold Path? He needs to know the nature of his mind so that he can obtain mental strength through the pāramitā. He may know that the Tao is satipaìhåna, which is the development of understanding of realities; But mindfulness will not arise if the pāramis are not strong enough to be able to realize the Four Noble Truths. We all need to cultivate the thirteen with wisdom, even when we give alms in our daily lives. We need to know the truth, We need to know the difference between generosity without wisdom and wisdom giving, as in the case of giving to the wisdom of the Bodhisattva. In this way, we can consider and understand the truth of the pāramitā, the truth of goodness, in order to follow the footsteps of the Bodhisattva, who developed the pāramitā in each of his lifetimes . He did not develop a separate cloak in the present life, and was ordained in another life, which developed the thirteen virtues in every life, always the same.

Now I will talk about dafa accompanied by true, truthful pāramitā, and here we need to meditate on the bodhisattva gift.

The book " Paramattha Dipani, " the commentary for  Hạnh Tạng,  explains the three types of pāli bhāna: the ämisadāna, the bada (abhayadāna), and the dhamma-dāna. We read about extramarital giving as follows:

"  When the Great Dane gives his externality, he gives whatever he needs; And when you know someone needs something, he gives generously without waiting for him to ask, what to ask when asked .

A person is willing to give something useful to others when he / she needs to be someone with a good understanding of the practice of good deeds. As soon as one sees that a person is in need of one thing, the moment of arising consciousness, he does not wait until he is asked.

We read in Commentary:

"He's just giving out something to give."

He does not bother or bothered to give alms but has nothing to give. The Bodhisattva is only giving alms when he has something to give.

We read:

"When there are things to give, the Bodhisatta gives what they want, not what they do not want."

When others are in need of something, you give it if you have one.

We read:

"He is not giving because he expects to be answered. And when there is not enough room to distribute it all, he distributes everything that can be shared. But he does not give things to the afflictions of others, such as weapons, toxins, or intoxicants. He also does not give pleasure and harm. He does not give food or drink that is not suitable for the sick person, even when he asks for it, and he does not give the right things beyond the reasonable range. "

If we really want to help someone, such as an ill person, we need to consider with compassion about how to support him or her. We should not always give alms without thinking, but need to know what is appropriate and useful for a patient or not. We need to know what is meticulous, we need to know the difference, do not ignore the good. Like a drug seeer needs to know the patient's condition and dosage appropriate for each patient, so we have to give in with consideration.

Explanatory note:

"Again, when asked, he gave the householders the right things for the landlord; for the nunnery the things suitable for the monk. He gives gifts to his father, mother, relatives, friends and companions, to children, to his wife, to slaves and employees, without hurting anyone. If you have promised a noble gift, you will not give anything. He is not given by desire for benefit, honor or scent, or expectation of repayment, or any result other than omniscience (in the case of the Bodhisattva). He does not give gifts because he hates alms, or hates asking people. He did not give away the item, even to those who mourned the lack of restraint, insulted him. "

Every time we give, we need to assess your mind. The mind needs to be really soft and gentle. We should not despise those who ask for or are dissatisfied with what we give to them; We should not give away items, even to beggars who lack control over insults and insults.

Can we follow this? The recipient of the gift may appear uncomfortable, or may occasionally behave in a vulgar manner. However, the mind of the almsgiver can be soft and tender. He can give generosity without aversion to the recipient. It is possible that the recipient of the gift has a lack of restraint in conduct, improper behavior, or he may insult the donor; he may be angry, say he gives too little, or that he does not want to be given. However, in the end, the mind of the benefactor needs to be strong in good deeds.

We read in the Commentary:

"He is always giving gifts with compassion, with compassion and reverence."

In this way we can eradicate our afflictions including almsgiving. The comment says:

"He does not give the gift of believing in the superhumanity: he gives alms to the belief in kamma and the fruit of karma. When your benefactor does not make a request for tribulation by making him pay homage, etc .; He gives alms without making it difficult for others. He does not give gifts with the intention of deceiving others, or with intent to hurt; He is only giving in with an immaculate mind. He does not give gifts with rude words or frowns, but with loving words, friends, and a smile on his lips.

Whenever an item becomes outrageous by its value and beauty, because of its ancientness, by its long accumulated attachment, the Bodhisattva realizes that attachment, quickly renounce it. Look for the receiver and let go. "

One knows how much he knows about his attachment and knows when he can give up and when he does not. At times, he may think of giving, but he can not give. However, as we have read, with the Bodhisattva is different.

The above quotation is about talents - material proclamation. The commentary gives many examples of the practice of the Bodhisattva when he cultivates the pāramitā in order to attain the enlightenment of a Buddha. Now, however, only a few details are discussed here so that people can examine their minds more carefully so that they can develop more good deeds.

Commentary on narcissism (abhayadāna) - generosity feeling fear - as follows:

"Pride is to give protection to sentient beings when they become frightened by kings, by thieves, by fire, by water, by enemies, by lions, by tigers, by wild bears, by dragons, by evil, by demons, by goblins, etc.

Dharma is the correct Dharma spoken by the unconscious mind; That is the path to goodness for this life, the next life and the ultimate liberation. By those words, those who have not yet entered the Dharma step into the Dhamma, and those who have entered the Dharma reach maturity. And here is the method: In summary, he talks about charity, about the world, about heaven, about unsatisfactoriness and corruption in the five pleasures, and about the benefits of giving up sex. leaf."

People can understand about dangers, the dangers of the five desires and the benefits of renouncing them, but if we lose our minds and do not listen to the Fa, we will be easily invaded by afflictions. When we often hear the Fa, whether we listen to what we have said before, or when we hear what is being said about our daily life, we are reminded to meditate and to know the reality, and thus to have it. Favorable for the accumulation of more fidelity. We read in Commentary:

For those who are mindful of the enlightenment of the sāvakabodhiyam adhimuttacittānam, He gives them the foundation and purifies them (in the process towards the end) by preaching the detailed Dharma, The noble character of any heading is appropriate in the following categories: refuge, morality, rebirth of senses, mindfulness, awareness ...

We need to know the level of our knowledge. As read, the Buddha preached the dharma details to those who are mindful of the enlightenment of the sutras. He preached the Dhamma to lay the foundation and purify them (in the process toward the goal) by preaching the Dharma teachings. about the noble dharma that suits them.

Those who wish to develop satipaììhåna, develop the correct understanding of the characteristics of dharmas and develop the clichés in everyday life who are prone to the enlightenment of the dharma, and what It means that they take refuge in the Three Jewels, they maintain the precepts, they collect the Senses, they are uneducated and practice diligently-mindfulness.

We need to cultivate the paupes in parallel with satipaìhåna, after life. The Bodhisatta has cultivated the pāramitā in many august states to an unparalleled level. He has accumulated perfections of generosity with wisdom and all other good qualities to create a cause (as volitional, sankharakhandha 3 ) for the realization of the Four Noble Truths of the Buddha brought to. We read in the Commentary on the accumulation of the bodhicitta of the bodhisattva:

"By giving this material, the Vajra Master gives alms, thinking:" By this generosity, may I help sentient beings have longevity, beauty, happiness, strength, wisdom, and the ultimate fruit of the net. " His darling drink, longing to quench the thirst of sensual pleasures; Give your clothes to be dressed with gold and gold (by a Buddha); Enlightenment means that one can obtain spiritual powers and enjoy nirvana; Bell peppers to create the radiance of the world; giving wreaths and chalks to create the beauty of Buddha nature; Give seats to create sutras of the enlightened station;make beds for mattresses to create a place for Tathagata; alms to be able to become a refuge for sentient beings; lamps arranged to have five labels 4. He gave alms to the halo (around the Buddha); Bell sound to create a voice like Brahma (Buddha); sweet sweet father to be kind to the world; Dagger material to get the Buddha generous. He gave his medicine so that he could later offer the immortal and invincible taste of nirvana. He gives freedom to slaves to liberate sentient beings from the subjugation of affliction . He generates high pleasure to create joy in the Dharma. He gave birth to being able to receive all sentient beings as sons by the birth of saints. He gave his wife to become a karmic turning. He gave gold, jade, coral, treasure, etc. to have 32 Buddhist generals, and generous cosmetic to achieve the perfect facets. He gave the treasure to the treasures of the Dharma; Assign your kingdom to become the Dharma King; monastic monasteries, parks, lakes, lagoons for meditation, etc .; Giving foot to step to the tower of enlightenment with feet stamped the wheels of good general; Dad hands to be able to spread the French arm to help sentient beings across the floodwaters 5; give ear, nose, etc. to achieve the beliefs, etc. to see the eye to be able to get a view; Flesh and blood alms with the thought: "May your body be the means of life for the whole world! May this bring peace and happiness to all sentient beings of all time, even if they only see, hear, remember or serve me! "And he gave alms to become the patriarch of the world. "

All of his generosity has contributed to the enlightenment of the Four Noble Truths when he became the Buddha of the sense-hall. We read about the Bodhisattva's generosity:

"Sadda dāna" should be understood in terms of the sound of the drum, etc. It is certainly not possible to give sound when offering lotus flowers, removing flowers from roots and bulbs and lifting them in hands. We must give sound through the object of sound. Thus, he gives sound by offering an instrument, such as drums, gong for the Triple Gem. "

We can offer the drum to the temple as a sound giving, as it is used for hours or hours (of day and night) and other things. We can play music to offer the Jewels by using instruments such as drums, gongs ... We can arrange for ourselves or another person to play an instrument, such as drum, with the intention of offering the sound. .

Additional explanatory notes on the sound giving modes are as follows:

"... by giving alms, such as oil and honey, to the preacher; by informing the French sermon; by chanting the scriptures, by teaching the Dharma, by presiding over the talks, or by the blessings of others.

We can invite people to talk or ask others to join him. Or when we say the words of joy, we are giving sound. When those words come out loud or when we invite everyone with joy, we are giving sound. It is a condition for others to give voice by expressing their joys.

We read in the Commentary:

"Giving that, the magnanimous Grant is not reluctant, do not make it difficult for others, not because of fear, shame, or scolding of people need to be donated. When there are noble things, He does not give anything less. He does not compliment me on the person. He does not give generously in anticipation of results, or because of the hatred of the person asking, or in a deliberate manner. On the contrary, he generously delivered, with his own hands, in time, with care, without distinction, full of bliss in all three (before, during and after generosity). Once given, he does not regret. He is not arrogant or impatient with the recipient, he behaves friendly with them. Spacious and liberal, he gives everything with a reward (saparivā). By giving food, thinking, "I will give this and give you more rewards," he added, and so on. And when giving her shirt, thinking:

His generosity is not limited, and He also gives an extra reward to the gift. In our daily life, we all need to examine and examine the realities that arise in us as they really are. Although we have heard the classic descriptions of the bodhisattva's gift, our generosity depends on many conditions, and we can not compare with the Bodhisattva of almsgiving.

In the latter part of the Commentary, we read that the Bodhisattva ponders when he has an object of generosity, but his mind is not ready to give alms:

"When the Bodhisatta has things that can be given and present to the recipient of the gift, but his heart is not happy with the thought of giving and he does not want to give, he must conclude as follows:" Surely I have not been used to giving in the past, so enthusiasm for gift now does not arise in me. Let us meditate with generosity in the future, now we will give. With the vision for the future, let us now give up what we have for those who need it. "

Thus, we find that we can not force the giving. A person who has accumulated the tendency to give generously, constantly will be easy to give, without hesitation, do not need to reconsider. Therefore, when one's mind does not rejoice with the idea of ​​giving right away, or hesitating, one may know that he has not accumulated alms in the past.

We read on:

"He generous like, generous, out of hand, joy in the discharge; Bell is asked when asked, happy in giving and sharing. In this way, the Great Man destroys, smashes and eradicates the first shackle that holds the dagger. "

Here we find that we need to test our minds when we are not ready to give.

We read:

"Again, when the almsgill is paralyzed or defective, the Virgo considers:" Because we were not willing to give in the past, now our belongings are defective. So, be afraid, let me give you anything we have, even if it is paralyzed and cowardly. In that way, in the future, we will attain the peak of pāli. "He gave alms like that, whatever he had, generous, outstretched, rejoiced in ritual, Asked, happy in giving and sharing. That way the Viktor destroys, smashes and destroys the second shackle holding the Bell. "

When a person does not give, he may think about it, he may realize that he has not accumulated enough generosity and that he will try to accumulate it. Or, he realized that the things he was able to give himself were defective or meager because he had not given in the past, and that from now on, even if he had little, he should give alms.

We read on:

When there is hesitation, the contestant is initiated by the splendor or beauty of the item that can be given. The healer instructs: 'Sage, you have not made a vow to reach the ultimate enlightenment, to the highest state of all states? So, for the sake of enlightenment, it is fitting that you give out magnificent and beautiful things. ' Thus, he generates excellent and beautiful things, generous, hands on, joy in the discharge, generosity when asked, rejoice in generosity and share. In this way, the great man destroys, smashes and destroys the third shackle of alms. "

When one regrets giving away something, he needs to consider what he really wants: to keep that thing or to enlighten the Four Holy Truths. Reflection in this way can be a condition for the arising of generosity, and at that moment, a shackle of alms is destroyed.

We read:

"When the gift giver noticed the loss of the gift, he thought, 'This is the nature of the property, it is the loss of the gift. Furthermore, because we have not given so in the past, our property is now in ruins. So let me give you what I have, whether small or abundant. In this way, in the future, we will reach the peak of pāli. Thus, he generates whatever he has, generous, out of hand, joyful in the discharge, always generous when asked, rejoice in generosity and share. In this way, the great man destroys, smashes and destroys the fourth shackle of reins. "

Some people believe that when they give their gifts, their assets will be depleted, but in reality, exhaustion lies in the nature of the property. Regardless of whether we have alms or not giving, in due time our property is exhausted, it will disappear. Some people who own many possessions fear that if they do not share their possessions it will be depleted, and so they believe that they should give. When disasters occur by fire, flood or robbery, or when the property is confiscated by the emperor, we may regret that we have not given before. We can see that property does not disappear by giving, but it depends on karma whether we are property or bankrupt.

Developing pāramīs is extremely difficult, even though we have heard the Fa and learned much about pāramitā. It depends on how well each individual can develop his own good deeds. The clans need to be developed very slowly and in parallel with the intellectual, repetitive. We know that it is necessary to realize that we have many afflictions, and that it is very difficult to develop the kind of wisdom that can eradicate these afflictions. Therefore, in every life, defilements need to be gradually eliminated so that the Four Noble Truths can be realized when one becomes a cone. Then, we reach the first stage of enlightenment, and there will be no more rebirth than seven times.

We need to know what kind of wisdom is associated with pāli. Roll  Analyzer  (Vibhanga - second set of Tibetan  Abhidharma ), chapter 16,  Luan about location , 325) explains about the types of various intellectual, such as the location because of thinking, memory, listening, location thanks to generosity, the virtue of morality.

The book " Dissolves"  (Chapter 16, 412) explains that wisdom attaches to dana cetana, " mind based on generosity " or " wisdom through generosity " (dānamayā pannā).

When reading this we need to look closely at the wisdom born with the intention of giving (danacetanā). Wisdom can not arise with akusala citta, it can not arise when one expects results.

We read in " Drowned ":

"... the mind associated with giving in this way is called" mindfulness based on generosity "(dānamayā pannā). But it shows in three periods, before, during and after giving, corresponding to the person thinking: "I will give alms," when he is giving alms, and when he comes back after giving alms. "

The book " Dissolve " said details about the wisdom of birth with the mind of goodwill. Kindness can be in agreement with or not with mind. Mental kusala citta nānasampayutta 6 can be kusala at the level of generosity, morality, or mental development (bhāvanā), including samatha and satipaṭṭhanā (or the development of insight knowledge (vipassanā). When it comes to cultivating pāli, the goal must be to understand the truths as they really are, not to expect results for oneself. This is the condition for wisdom based on generosity (dānamayā paññā).

We read in " Happiness ," Part II, The Paramedema , No. 1, "The precepts of Yudhañjaya ", about the Fourth Yudhañjaya Bodhisattva. He saw a dew melting from the warmth of the sun, and that reminded him of impermanence, which caused him to initiate the renunciation. Explanation for this section says:

"The wisdom of the beginning period of meditating on the impermanence of the dhamma know how to benefit for generosity and so on. That is the wisdom of preexisting. "

Giving is giving away for the sake and welfare of others. When giving, we are not selfish. The wisdom at the beginning begins to reflect on the impermanence of the dharmas. Have we ever contemplated at the moment of generosity that nothing lasts? Even the possessions we have today and not abandoned may disappear before we can give them, because they are impermanent. We ourselves, who have not given alms, are also impermanent, we can die before the opportunity to show generosity. When we meditate on the impermanence of both the giver and the receiver, kusala can encourage us to help others. When we give something useful to others with an understanding of the impermanence of things, the wisdom of the pāramitā can develop. Only we can know for ourselves whether or not these considerations are at those moments.

Some people feel joyful with some kinds of generosity, not with all generosity, and when recalling their generosity, they feel rejoice and attached to it. This indicates that there may be good will before and during giving, but then there may be no kusala.

We need to check that when we remember that goodness has done, the mind is good or bad. We can be happy to see that we have worked well, that we have helped someone to save their suffering. Other people may have not helped because of ignorance of their needs. When we help others and remember the created goodness, we can feel joyful, but it is not self, anattā; Whether or not a happy birth is out of control. Happiness can arise because we have the opportunity to help the needy and need help. However, if we want to remembrance our good deeds to benefit ourselves, it is not the dhamma giving. The difference between dhamma is that dharma and dharmas are not delicate and subtle. END=NAM MO SHAKYAMOUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.5/9/2017.