Please set the torch yourself to go.

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The Buddha emphasized two points, be yourself a lamp for yourself, be like yourself, do not be like someone else. Take the Dharma as a lamp, take the dharma as a refuge, do not rely on anything else.

Once, when  the Buddha was  sick in Belu and before the anxiety of Ananda (), and another time, before the message of Sariputta (fate of Phat) was common and before the anxiety of the religious Ananda (v. 170), the Buddha proclaimed this teaching, as well as the instructions to summarize all his methods of  cultivation  are condensed, and also a python of a rank Teachers know that they are dying, so there are messages and encouragement to his disciples what the disciples need to practice, after the Teacher passed away:

- "Therefore, Ananda, be your own lamp (atta-dipa viharatha), let yourself be yourself (attàsaranà) with nothing else. Duty to take refuge, do not rely on something else ...

Hey Ananda, in life, the bhikkhu habits on the body, zeal, mindfulness awareness, retribution in life. The residence on the feeling ... stay on the mind on the mind, stay on the French legal, heart, mindfulness, mindfulness consultant in life.

In this Ananda, bhikkhu himself is a lamp for himself, he is self-reliant, he is not like anything else, using the dharma as a lamp, using the dharma as a refuge, not a refuge. something else.

Behold, Ananda, who, now or after I extinction, is himself a lamp for himself, self-reliance on himself, nothing else, using the dharma as a lamp, using the dharma Take refuge in a different way, these, Ananda, are the highest in my Believer, if they are eager to learn. "

Light up the wisdom lamp

Here the word Dipa means both the lamp and the island, so you can translate it yourself: light up the torch, or build your own island. Make yourself a lamp for yourself.

In this particularly important and important teaching, the Buddha emphasizes two points. Make yourself a lamp for yourself, be yourself, do not be like someone else. Take the Dharma as a lamp, take the dharma as a refuge, do not rely on anything else. 

These two views can be seen as honest reflections on the life of the Buddha, his practice, the practice of the Buddha based on his own experience, and also completely wrap up all the teachings he teaches throughout the 45 the year of his  sermon  of birth to pass to the disciples.

In fact, we see clearly, in more than six years of directing, practicing and evangelizing, the Blessed One himself made personal efforts, self-reliant seeking and directing with two exotic teachers of the time Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rapaputta, self-help ascetic, self-help meditation, and self-help to develop wisdom and eventually attained enlightenment under the tree of buddhahood Righteous Enlightenment. 

He is not a spiritual force, not an embodiment of a divine being, not a reincarnation of a supreme being. He is only one person, with the strength of human strength and intellect, has found his own path and find the direction of success, has personally practiced and practiced effective, self-evangelized and evangelized. The fullness of our life, as we have seen in his life, if we put aside the later additions to the deity of his life.

He sought self and study and express himself as follows:

"It is not only Alara Kalama who has faith in me, I have faith, not only Alara Kalama who is diligent, but also diligent, not only Alara Kalama who has mindful thoughts, but also Alara Kalama. set, I also have to. not only Alara Kalama have wisdom, I also have wisdom.  

So we must try to witness to be measures that Alara Kalama, after self-repair and self-certified, self achieve proclaimed. and this the Not soon, I self-knowledge, self-attainment, quickly attain it, I stay " 

Later, ascetic, he also himself ascetic as he himself described:

"For I have eaten too little, my limbs have become like grass, or burned with dry plants, because I have eaten too little, my table became like a camel's toenail. My spine is like a chain, because I eat too little, my slender ribs like a broken pile of broken stilts, because I eat too little, my pupils are glittering. deep in the eye hole, like the glistening water deep in a deep well ... " 

The Buddha after ascetic practice has no results. He resolutely renounces asceticism and begins to meditate on himself, meditation, second meditation, third jhana, fourth jhana, intellectual development, nirvana, wisdom, wisdom , know as real suffering, know as real or pirated, escape from sex, illegal, pirated ignorance. 

With such self-liberation, arise the knowledge: "The birth is complete, the deed was done, the deed should have done, no longer retreat this state" (I I, 248). Thus, with self-experience, self-renunciation ascetic, meditation practice, intellectual development, the Buddha results the Chief Justice.

For teachers who have relied on self-reliance to cultivate, study and direct, in the 45 years of the Buddha's birth, his main teaching to the disciples is self-reliance. Make yourself a lamp for yourself, do not rely on anything else. Use the dharma as a lamp, use the dharma as a refuge, do not rely on anything else.

First of all,  the Buddha  affirms "begging" and "desire" for no benefit, not only on the path of dharma practice but also on worldly aspirations.

"If there are ten people doing good deeds, then a great multitude of people pray for their hands, hoping that they will be born of good deeds, good deeds. It would be like hell to throw a rock into the lake, and then a large crowd of people would pray and pray that the stone would be raised. It is useless because the rock, with its weight, can not float, can not float to the shore, as the plea of ​​the masses.

On the contrary, one renounces ten good deeds, doing ten good deeds, if there is a great mass to plead, implore, hand, pray that he will be born in hell, land, prayers It is not accomplished. 

He is born beast, good world, human realm. If a person drowns a jar of oil in a lake and breaks the oil, that oil will emerge on the water. 

Although there was a large crowd to pray, pleading, hand, demand that the oil sank to the bottom of the water. The request is of no consequence, the oil is still floating on the water. So, there is pleading, there is no begging what the benefits.

The IIIA, page 123, further confirms the futility of prayers and prayers. A bhikkhu who does not pay attention to the practice, initiates the desire to be free from contradictions, or does not have attachment, that desire is not satisfied. 

As a hen has eight, ten or twelve chicken eggs, it hatches improperly, hatches improperly, improperly nursed, the time for the chicken to rise up the wish that the chicks with its legs, with its nails, with its mouth, breaking its eggshells and releasing it safely, the hen was not satisfied. Why? Because the hen does not sit properly, does not properly hatch, does not properly nourish.

On the contrary, a bhikkhu living in the practice of cultivation, even if not aspiring: "May my mind be liberated from smuggling or grasping," but that mind is still free. cling. Why? To say that he is practicing. What are the practices? There are four meditation practice, there are four practitioners need to practice, there are four practitioners as well as the practice, there are five years training, there are five training force, there are seven practitioners, eight practices. 

Like hens, there are eight, ten or twelve eggs. She hugs in the right way, she hugs properly. Even if the chicken does not spring up to wish, its chicks, with their legs, with their nails, with their beaks, break the eggshell and escape safely, the chicks also break the eggshell. and escape safely. Thus, there is no wish or aspiration. The main thing is to take correct action, the right way to bring results.

Another sutra (p. 303) emphasizes the uselessness of the beggar. If the action is not good enough, can not achieve the results. This is not justified in the sense that this is the wrong knowledge, wrong thinking, evil language, evil business, evil, evil, evil thoughts, evil. Why? Because this is not the way to get results. 

Then the Buddha looked for the oil, after pouring sand into the barrel, continue to sprinkle sand oil for oil, although he had the desire to find oil is also not satisfied. Why? Because this is not a method of finding oil. The Buddha used another example, more meaningful, to be a milk seeker, to a cow, to take the horn of a cow that milked, whether it was a wish or not, it was not get milk

On the contrary, if there is a monk or brahmin, there is right view, right thinking, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right mind, The virtue will achieve fruit. Why? Because this is the method of gaining fruit. For example, a person looking for oil, after leaving the oil to the barrel, continue to sprinkle the oil and then oil the oil. 

Whether he wishes or does not wish, he will get oil. Why? Know how to make oil. Just like the milk goer, the cow, the milk from the newborn baby, the time whether desire or not wish also find milk.

For the same thing in life, not because of prayers, but because of the desire to achieve. Being a person, we often wish to be able to find five things that are difficult to find in life such as: longevity, rich colors, peacefulness, good rumors, and birth heaven. In the Pleasure Sutra (IIB, p. 74), the Buddha states that these five pleasures are not due to human pleasures, nor to human aspirations, but because of human pleasures, In this life there is someone who withered for aught, when only the request was the satisfaction. 

The Buddha said very clearly: Want to have the life network can not beg for life or praise life network to be the cause of life. The saintly disciple who wants to have life must practice the path leading to life, leading to rúpa, bringing peace, leading to good rumors, leading to birth, he was able to achieve Five things that you wish in life.

In the definition of  kamma  and the role of the Buddha's kamma, it is very clear that Karma means action, the verb Karoti means to do, to act on the body, the word and the mind, but to act. It must be acted in the center of mind, ie a voluntary action to do, decide themselves to do, no one instigated, not sent by anyone. 

Since it was an act of self-consciousness, we decided to do so, so the Buddha identified us as the owner of Kammassako, the kamma-kamma, In our actions, we ourselves bear the results of our actions. The Dhammapada clearly states:

"What evil doeth, 

I was born, I create,

Crush the fool,

Like diamond jewelery. 

Another clearer statement:

"Self, evil do, 

Self pollution,

Self evil do not do,

Self-purification,

Pure, not self,

No one is pure. " 

"Criticize yourself, 

Examine yourself,

Pseudo-self-protection,

Mindfulness of peace. " 

In a very famous sutta, the Kalamasutta, the Buddha advised his followers to believe in him, not believing in anyone else, believing in his ability to judge good and evil, not believing in one any other:

- "Kalama, do not believe in the legend, do not believe because tradition, do not believe because people say, do not believe because the Tibetan scriptures, do not believe in human reason, Do not believe because human reasoning, do not believe after thinking about the facts, conditions, without prejudice bias, prejudice, not believe because they see fit with the ability, do not believe because lord The subject is his master. 

But this Kalama, when you yourself know as follows: 'These dhamma are akusala, these dhammas are guilty, these dhammas are criticized, these dharma if done and accepted, miserable suffering. Now Kalama, let go of them ... ... But this Kalama, when you yourself know as follows: 'These dhammas are good. These are not sinful. These dharmas, praised by the wise. If this practice and acceptance, resulting in happy happiness, this time the Kalama, attain and stay '... ".

When aware of their ability to distinguish good and evil, the Buddha taught should be alone, not just another person, as the following verse stated:

"The unassuming traveler,

No one,

Do not make love, 

Do not hate.

Therefore, in the charcoal,

In the greedy,

As water on the leaves,

Do not sticky wet stick. " 

"Who does not look for a tree

For the birth,

Can be greedy,

For clinging 

He is not just

No one to lead,

He is not right,

Travel in the world. 

But the Buddha is careful. Though he has been liberated and enlightened than him, but he still shows that he must care only in a recluses or Brahmins:

"So let's pay homage, reverence and live only on a subject or Brahman, with the purpose of making full aggregates ... aggregate aggregates ... wisdom aggregate ... liberation aggregates are not filled Enough ... but I do not see a place in the world of gods, evil and Brahma, between the masses of Venetian and Brahmins, gods and humans, no other Venus or brahmanas. , with precepts, with concentration, with wisdom and with more liberation than I can reverently pay homage and live only. Enlightenment, pay homage, pay homage and live only the Fa ".

Thus the Buddha with a modest mind, want to find a subject or Brahman to rely on just where the Dharma. That is why the Buddha taught the bhikkhus "Be ye yourself the light of your own (attà-dìpavviatha), let yourself be of one's self (attā-sarāna), and not be like anything else.  

Use the Dharma as a refuge, do not rely on anything else. " This attitude of the Buddha explains why the Buddha advised that Ananda should not be melancholy after the Buddha's passing, since the disciples of the Buddha always had the dharma as the only medicine, titles.

In the third, 51, the Buddha identified the advice once again for his disciples to take the dharma as an island, taking the dharma as a refuge: "Live, make your own island, bhikkhus, take refuge with oneself, refraining from one another. Take the dhamma as an island, take the dhamma, refuge no one else. " 

In the Gopaka Moggallana, Middle III, p. 111, we will see the disciples of the Buddha after he passed away, acting as he taught. Brahman Gopaka Moggallana asked Ananda: "There is a bhikkhu who has been ordained by Gotama: 'This man, after I die, will be your refuge and you will be This indicator? '".

Ananda replied: "Brahman does not have a bhikkhu who is blessed by the Blessed One, the Author, the Author, the Arahant, the Chief of the Right Enlightenment. , will be your refuge, 'and we will show you this. "

"Ananda, there is a bhikkhu whom they have agreed upon and a great number of presbyterate ordained people who, after the passing of the Blessed One, will be our refuge, and Will we show this? "

Ananda replied: "There is no bhikkhu, Brahman, they are raised by agreement and are ordered by the majority of bhikkhu monks: 'This man, after the passing of the Blessed One, will be our refuge, 'and we will show you this. "

"And so (you) have no shelter." Ananda, that's why you can get along. "

"Brahmin, we do not have no shelter, Brahmin, we have a shelter, and France is our refuge."

Taking the Dharma as a refuge, it is also the  Buddha's teachings  . END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.THE MIND OF ENLIGHTENMENT.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN LOTUS MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.8/4/2018.