CHAPTER 1: CHANGE THE PEOPLE.
Our precious days
But it is also impermanent and full of inconsiderate things.
So we must use this life to practice spirituality right now.
Our human process - from the moment we are conceived to the moment of death - is the period in which we have many pleasures and accomplishments, the source of great benefits. But life is also full of inevitable suffering, both physically and mentally. Even a miserable life seems to pass very quickly, while a happy life goes through with a feeling of incompleteness. Life is so fleeting and disappointing that we have to go through happy times and painful moments that seem like we can not be active at all.
Human life begins when we are conceived and terminate with an infirmity or for some reason. The body and mind stay in harmony until we breathe and our bodies are still warm. When the breath stops and the warmth is gone, the mind and body split, and we die.
WHAT IS OUR NATURE?
The body is not our true identity. It's just a place where our minds stay for a while. When the mind and body split, the body will dissolve into the natural elements that created it and will forever disappear. But our minds will still be there. The mind will continue to exist by being reborn into another body and another body according to the sequence of habits of our past, karma. Our future destiny - we will be happy or miserable - depending on our habitual habits, mental concepts and emotions that are ingrained in us, as well as The way we express all these habits is verbal and action.
The true nature of mind is open and pure. The nature of the mind is peaceful, blissful, intelligent and kind. That nature is called buddhahood or buddha. In Sanskrit, buddha means "awake" or "awakened". Every sentient being, each of us has a sense of identity. It is wisdom not bound by the self-limiting conditions of binary thinking that often divide experiences into subject and object, "we" and "other." The true nature of the mind is omniscient, full consciousness, seeing all simultaneously and non-dual, as one without limit. In our ultimate universal nature, not only our mind is omniscient, but space is infinite and time is infinite.
Then where do most of us do not know about these wonderful things that are hidden in our minds? The reason is that the true properties within our minds are obscured by our customary dualistic notions that are a constant distinction which often emphasizes duality and opposition. of things, moods and feelings of attachment. So our true nature becomes alien to us. However, although we often nurture negative emotions of clinging or hating, our natural mind is still free of dirt and debauchery.
In order to discover the true nature of our mind, we must embark on profound meditation with devotion. We must recognize and think about the correct ways of understanding, thinking, feeling, believing, and being. But even if we have only the notion that we have a purity and goodness within us, only that will help us cultivate confidence, strengthen our practice. and push us towards the right goal.
Some people may think that our minds are so rigid and stable that they are difficult to shape according to new spiritual tendencies. We can believe that we have been so deeply rooted in negative habits that it is difficult to accept new ways of thinking and feeling. In fact, every minute is an opportunity to start over, or to change the direction and nature of our lives.
Contrary to what we think, our minds are not a single and rigid flow. It does not block like an iron rod. It is a series of very short intervals that change every second as the particles of the beads in our hands change constantly. Each event is a sequence of arising and extinction occurring continuously, an experience that preceded it by the end of another event and followed by the beginning of a subsequent event. The feeling that our lives are an uninterrupted time series is just an illusion - like the illusion that we see a coherent light that is created when babies spin the flashlight. or a burning stick in the dark.
If we feel discouraged or feel impassable, it is often because we do not really understand the pseudoscience of life. We cling to events as objects of the mind and view them as real living entities. In fact, events have changed before we can think about them. When we think about events, they are just shadows, reflections of what has happened.
Every event, every moment is fresh, fresh, as new born. We are still shaping, and we can educate ourselves and train ourselves as we educate and train a new baby. By meditation, we can improve ourselves in every moment and thus discover our understanding.
Why meditate?
Some people wonder why we view meditation as important. They view meditation as a passion and also as selfish and they often ask: If you just sit and enjoy peace in your mind, what do you do for society? How can you say that you care about others?It is sad that some people understand meditation as such. But perhaps we should not be surprised because not everyone can easily see the benefits of meditation.
In fact, whatever we think and feel produces a positive or negative mark in our consciousness. The thoughts of selflessness, peace and joy will produce the best forms, sounds and emotions; Negative thoughts will produce devils and terrible sounds. But only when we leave our crude body and go into the middle body, we see and hear the images and the sound. This issue will be addressed later.
Meditation is a very powerful tool for creating great forms, sounds, and sentiments that can help us and countless others who are willing to receive them. In particular, sentient beings in the middle body are very receptive to meditations and prayers because they live in the world of thought. There is no physical body to anchor them, when they think "New York" they are present in New York, if they immediately think of "London" then they are in London, the karmic force happens so. Being swept away, they often feel exhausted, scared and lonely.
The peace, bliss and compassion we create through meditation provide a safe haven where sentient beings in the middle body can rest and find their confidence and peace. Meditation is a powerful way to help these sentient beings rather than our ordinary rampant thoughts and emotions, as meditation comes from a deeper and more peaceful stage in our minds. Like a magnet, a stable mind attracts minds to float and stabilize them. The longer we meditate, the longer we can comfort the beings and the chance to improve their future is also greater.
Meditation also helps us to contribute more to the living. When our minds are filled with negative emotions, if we want to help others, even physically, we can make them infected with our bad.
Meditation is a way to purify our impurities, enhance good qualities and awaken our true nature. Meditation can be an experience of good qualities such as devotion, peace, love, and strength created from sincere thoughts and feelings. This is conceptual meditation. Or meditation can be an experience of mindfulness. It is non-conceptual meditation. Both are an experience, an attainment that purifies and gives us endless treasures of love, peace, joy and devotion; It makes our lives better and at the same time enhances our ability to serve others. When our minds are filled with these qualities, Our words and actions naturally convey and reflect these qualities. We become a source of love, peace and bliss for all who are close to us. Only our presence can bring relief to others. So we can not neglect the root of a tree if we want to enjoy the fruit of that tree, so we can not ignore our minds if we want to benefit. others.
Many of us know the importance of meditation, at least in terms of knowledge; But we delay the practice of meditation or do not meditate wholeheartedly. The reason is that often we do not put the knowledge into the emotional level. If we attach our emotions, nothing can prevent us from practicing meditation. So how do we come to the practice of meditation?
Usually two things motivate one to meditate: one is inspired by one; Second is when you have a "shock" or a fear. There is so much motivation in life. For example, meeting a teacher whom we admire may be a decisive inspiration to us. Or sometimes there must be an event like the one we were seriously ill, or a sudden death of a loved one or a large tragedy like the tsunami disaster in South Asia and Southeast Asia to wake us up from the manipulation of daily life.
The Buddha advises us to think deeply about the five facets of life that can inspire us or cause us to be "shocked" or frightened:
- Having a virtuous life is rare and precious.
- Life is impermanent and ever-changing.
- Everything that happens in life is the result of karma.
- Life is full of suffering.
- Each person's life has the potential to achieve the highest goals.
THE LIFE OF HUMAN LIFE IS A GOOD THING
Our precious human life provides us with the foundation to do better not only this life but also the next. Life gives us the opportunity to attain enlightenment, to have a truly peaceful life, and to easily diffuse those qualities for the benefit of countless sentient beings, and we will become a source of peace. Peace and bliss for the universe.
If we are aware of this precious opportunity and understand the value of our lives, we will immediately feel grateful and grateful for the blessings of life that we enjoy. . This gratitude will turn into a strong determination that never wastes a moment of this life and dedicates this life in the best way that we can.
Let's think about how many sentient beings in this world have incredible opportunities like us, thanks to how we will realize how fortunate we are. Looking around, we can see countless beings in this world. If we turn a rock up, we can see countless insects crawling under the rock. If we have a microscope, we can see billions of other organisms. I also heard that there are billions of bacteria living in our gut. According to Buddhism, every being has the mind and wants to be happy.
However, the beings that we can see are just the tip of the iceberg. Just as cultures in the world believe there are beings we can not see as angels, gods, ghosts, demons. Buddhism also believes that there are countless beings that can not be seen. Many of these beings are in our midst, right where we are sitting and breathing. The only reason we and they do not see each other and do not interfere in each other's lives is because they and I do not have a karmic connection. The bonding of karma will create mutual recognition.
Yet, among the innumerable beings we can see and can not see, man possesses the greatest potential for enlightenment because we have the intellectual, motivated and enduring strength. to find the spiritual path and stick with it. Let's try two things to think about: animals and beings in hell. These beings are in pain, fear, and stupidity so they lack the power to understand even a little about the qualities of enlightenment. Now let's try to see that beings are longevitable gods. They seem to be more fortunate than us; They have beautiful bodies and enjoy all the good things. However,
However, in human society, if we observe closely, we find that there are very few who are inclined and capable of taking the opportunity to practice to attain enlightenment. Today many people do not believe in spirituality. Many people have no vague idea about the potential of their mind. Even so are high schoolers. One time an intellectual told me, "Mind is just a fungus on the brain."
Some people are too busy with their diet and illness or are too caught up in the joys of passion, unable to devote time to spiritual development. Others put all their energy into achieving material success and reputation. And some other people may have a spiritual tendency but never choose the right path because they associate themselves with bad people and accept wrong values. So only a very few people are fortunate to grasp the opportunities for spiritual development.
Buddhist doctrine clearly states the ideal conditions for achieving spiritual progress. These conditions are called eight free (not entangled) and ten blessings. Eight free things are not born in the realm of hell, (2) the demon, (3) the animal, (4) the long life, for there are no realms in these realms. gives beings the opportunity to grow spiritually well as the realm can bring. (Refer to chapter 6 "Regeneration" for a better understanding of the different realms.) We must also get rid of (5) misconceptions, (6) cruel behavior, (7) negativistic views, or (8) born into a place without the appearance of a enlightened man
The ten blessings include (1) being made human, (2) sense of intact and (3) healthy occupation or right livelihood. We must be born where (4) Buddhism is taught, (5) there is the appearance of an enlightened teacher, (6) the teacher teaches the secret (the teachings of enlightened Dharma ), and (7) the sermon is still developing. Finally, we must (8) believe in catechesis, (9) do catechesis, and (10) have the guidance of a true teacher alive.
You can see that rare people have all these 18 ideal conditions. Buddhists call the lucky ones possessing the ideal conditions that are the people who have precious life. Regardless of how many of these conditions we have, we should rejoice in the conditions we have, see them as blessings, and make use of them. We should also try to cultivate to meet the conditions we lack. If we are aware of the blessings that we have, we will never dare to waste this precious opportunity and sooner or later we will also realize the meaning of precious life - peace , blissful and truly generous.
If we do not take the opportunity to bring meaning to our lives and make it a precious life, it is unlikely we will have another chance in the future. After all, human beings have the sharpest of all beings, and we have the strongest emotions. We are so easily attracted to our passions and made tragic mistakes that can make us reborn in worse realms. Because Shantideva said,
"Being human with innate freedoms and advantages.
It is extremely difficult.
Today we have the opportunity to fulfill the purpose of life;
But if we do not take advantage of this opportunity,
then how can there be a chance like this again? "
LIFE is impermanent
Death has a way of making our minds more focused than anything else. When we think about the death and impermanence of life, it is difficult not to feel urgently to take advantage of our precious life. Understanding the principle of impermanence makes us aware of the true characteristics of life and encourages us to live better not to waste any moment.
We all know our last hours will come, but we do not know when and how. We just assume that our life will be long. In fact, as long as the mind is in the body, we live. Many things can easily separate the fragile combination of body and mind. Not only the illness and the accident cause death to us, but even medicine, food, housing, entertainment and friends can also cause death.
Although life seems to have a continuous existence, it is a series of events that change abnormally in every second. The stages of birth and death change constantly alternating as the face and body of the dancers turn around. Changes in life happen endlessly, changing from change to change, from moment to moment, like the grain in a bead when our fingers pass from one grain to another. other.
Not just a new life like that, everything else is the same - nature, friendship, wealth, status - all are impermanent. The Buddha said: The three
realms are as impermanent as the autumn clouds.
The rotation of life and death of beings is like watching a dance.
Life is passing as fast as lightning in the sky.
Life flows as fast as a stream flows down from a steep mountain.
Gungthang Tenpe Dronme tells a deep fable like this. One of the strollers suddenly falls down a steep rocky slope. When he fell down the rock, he stopped by grabbing a bundle of grass. He tries his best to cling to the grass bushes, or else he will fall off the rocky slopes and die. But then the white mouse ran and began to gnaw the grass. Then a black rat ran up and grazed some more grass. Two mice alternately grazed grass until a mouse gnawed the last grass and the man fell straight down and died under the ravine.
In this parable, the white mouse represents the day and the black mouse represents the night. Gradually, every day and every night passing us at a time closer to the end of life. Fortunately, we have been living for a while, but during that time we have always gone to death. The Buddha taught:
What is accumulated will also be exhausted
What came up finally fell.
Meet and then finally split.
Living and dying.
Because life ends with death.
All sentient beings will die.
Many know this, at least in terms of perception. We also know that death will come without warning. But we still feel comfortable buried in the sand, pretending like life will remain forever so. So we are unprepared for death. When that time comes, I will regret it. But it was too late.
So we have to be aware of the impermanent nature of life and to deeply appreciate its often changing nature. This awareness will lead us on the path of peace to reach the goal of peace without daring to spend a little time.
Use impermanence to remove the negative emotions
Understanding deep impermanence, the benefits are many. Reflecting on impermanence, in addition to its benefits of promoting one's practice, it can also dissolve negative emotions and bring us to a higher level of consciousness.Impermanence of anger. The true understanding of impermanence makes us more tolerant. Suppose we feel extremely angry at someone who has harmed us. If we see the impermanent nature of hatred, we will be aware that the person who seems to be our enemy today may have been our son in his past lives. Tomorrow, maybe they can become my best friend. Thinking that will calm me out of anger. We can also sense the meaninglessness and emptiness of a conflict with someone, because sentient beings often change their face. We may also feel pity on the caller of our enemies, because over time their efforts to harm us will hurt them when they must accept the consequences of their actions.
Impermanence of desire. When we are too attached to someone or something, we must think about the impermanence of man and things. Young, beautiful people will become old and ugly right before our eyes. What gives us pleasure today becomes the cause of sadness when they are lost or changed. Material wealth and social status only make us slaves. Embracing those things is like taking one's own hands and strangling yourself.
We deceive ourselves if we run the ephemera of life. By thinking carefully about the impermanence of objects that attract us, we will be aware of their transitory nature and their abnormalities, and then we will lose interest in those objects. As desire decreases, we can bring a sense of true peace to ourselves, no matter what we are and what we possess. Craving makes our minds cling to the objects of the mind and if we get rid of desire it is the greatest source of bliss. The Buddha taught:
All the pleasures of the world and
All the bliss of the divine realm.
It is impossible to equal the sixteenth part
of the joy of escape from desire.
Impermanence of sadness. When we feel depressed, sad about the loss of something so dear, we should think and feel the impermanence of that sadness and its origin. This feeling can make one forget all the sadness by eliminating the cause of it. The main reason is that we cling to what is not real, not sure and see that they are real and sure. Maybe we are upset about dealing with things we do not want. Feeling the impermanence of these things will neutralize and dissipate the pressure of sadness.
Impermanence of the excitement. Thinking about impermanence can also help us avoid being overly excited. For example, we know we have great luck. Instead of letting your heart be filled with complacency, let us remember that good luck is temporary. Studies conducted over the past few decades in the United States that tracked the lottery winners have shown us very well. Research shows that winning multi-million dollar lotteries does not make the winners more happy. In fact, lottery winnings can bring them more suffering because of family conflicts, litigation and spending extravagance. One study found that "flashy millionaires are not happier than people who have just had an accident."
When we die, we carry nothing but the spiritual achievements that have been achieved and our karma, the habits that we have sown in our stream of consciousness while we are alive. Whether we enjoy riches, fame, beauty, longevity and sensuality, or we are poor, dark, ugly, sad and unhappy, are no different. Shantideva wrote:
"A man wakes up from happy dreams that last for hundreds of years.
Another person wakes up after long happy dreams in a moment.
But when both of them wake up, the happy experiences are over.
At the time of death is the same, whether you have longevity or short life is no difference.
The path to higher realization. If we are experienced meditators, contemplation of impermanence can lead to deep awakening and that is the universal truth, the understanding. Milarepa recounts what happened to himself:
Fear of death
I ran up the mountain,
Consuming puzzled questions about death.
I reached immortal status, which is innate.
Now I am no longer afraid of death.
If we understand the naturalness of death and the impermanent nature of the objects of the mind, all the bad habits of consciousness related to those objects will be minimized. Our mind will become more open instead of clinging, more comfortable instead of stress, calm instead of anxiety, serenity and harmony instead of conflict and chaos, understanding instead of ignorance, wisdom instead of kissing. Our whole life, which follows the habits of past actions, will change from a bad, unhealthy cycle to a good and healthy cycle. Dr. Putowa advises us:
Let us think about the uncertainty of the time of death.
A sense of the inevitability of death will arise in us.
At that time we will avoid doing bad things easily
And devote ourselves to doing good things.
If we understand impermanence and feel it deeply, no goal is too high for us. All our spiritual endeavors will be very strong and will lead to the true spiritual goal. Negative emotions will disappear. Our love and wisdom, the pure qualities of our true nature, will shine and illuminate everything.
So we have to be thankful impermanence! Due to impermanence, the miseries of life will end if we know the right way, and the blessings will have the opportunity to make our existence a worthy human life.
THE CHANGE IS THE RESULTS OF THE INDUSTRY
Understanding that we are going to reap the fruits of what we do and think is one of the strongest motivations that we practice. This is the principle of karma.
Karma has become a popular concept in the West, but many seem to think that karma is related to fate or to a punishment that they must accept. Sometimes people are unlucky, they sigh and say, "Oh, this must be your karma."
This is a misconception. First, karma is not just bad. It involves all intentional actions, both positive and negative, leading to happiness as well as suffering.
Second, karma is not fate. It is not punishment imposed by an external agent on us. We create our own karma. Karma is the result of our choices at every moment of the day. As Walpola Rahula wrote: "Industrial theory is the theory of cause and effect, of action and effect of action; It is a natural law, not related to the concept of justice or reward. Any action that comes from our will produces results and results. " Karmic retribution is the result of what we sow in the stream of consciousness with our own actions and reactions.
The notion that we just sit there and wait for the influence of our past actions to affect us is in our past. Knowing that you are actively rowing a misconception. By doing good things now - in thought, speech or action - we create positive karmas and can remove negative karmas and change our future. On the other hand, if we keep silent on unwholesome behaviors, how can we dissipate or minimize the good behavior that drives our lives?
When we walk through the door, all that we carry is our karma. We leave everything we enjoy in this life. As the Buddha taught:
If the time has come, even the king must die,
Wealth, friends and relatives can not go.
Wherever we go, the
Kamma will follow us as a shadow.
Karma is the only thing that is important in deciding our rebirth, since our next birth is nothing more than the result of our karmic tendencies manifested in our consciousness. . The Buddha said:
Because of good deeds, one experiences happiness.
Because of unwholesome behavior, one experiences suffering.
These experiences are the karmic effects
of each person's good or bad behavior.
If we understand and believe in karma, we will want to take the opportunity of the present moment to make our future generations much better. Because our intentions promote our own actions and words, we will want to influence our mental attitudes to ensure that these attitudes are peaceful. We will want to stop negative thoughts before they go too far. Because if we really believe in karma, we will never dare go into negative things, because we will not want to intentionally hurt ourselves. If we do wrong actions, it is because we do not know and do not believe in the consequences of karma.
Improving one's own kamma also gives us the opportunity to make this world better. We can think that our karma is related only to us. However, in reality, there are both special and communal. Fornication refers only to our personal and personal experiences. The industry is the karmic we share with the people who are related to us. The closer we are to others, the more karma we share with them. Industry is the reason why many people have similar experiences and perceptions. Thus, we can advance our common karma by positive actions. In this respect, we can help more people if we are competent meditators.
Consequently, a clear understanding of the effects of kamma is very special, beneficial for us and for others.
The origin of karma is self-attachment
Karma is the act of intention arising from our mind. Thus, the mind plays an important role in karma and has the capacity to produce results (Sanskrit: phala , fruit) or maturity (Sanskrit: vipaka )If we can not perceive everything with enlightened mind, karma is a reality of life. We create kamma right at the moment we see the objects of the mind as real beings that exist. Recognizing an object as an entity that is truly outside our mind means seeing it as a "self." As we have previously mentioned, the way of perceiving such things is called "falling". We first attach our body and mind as "I" and then we accept the " table, "" friend, "etc.
When we cling to the aggregates, or the illusory elements of personality and see them as "we" then we accept the "human fall". Attaching to the objects - the body, the emotions, the senses, and the phenomena - which are real, we accept the "fall of phenomena". Falling is the primary cause of karma.
Everything in life is produced by karma and karma is created by the way in which the mind perceives and interacts with the object of the mind - the concept, the emotion, the feeling, and all the phenomena that arise in the mind. our. Material objects that we perceive are not necessarily created by our karma. But it is because of our kamma that these objects become a source of karmic effects in our lives such as happiness or suffering.
How is Karma formed?
Karma is formed when our clinging mentality induces craving (Sanskrit: trishna , thirst) towards the objects we cling to. " Craving"It does not just mean lust or attraction to an object, but the opposite of desire - hate or aversion. Both love and hate tighten up our attachment and this attachment, in turn, causes greed, anger, si - the three kinds of afflictive emotions or three kinds of poison. Then we form karmas through our three "doors" which are body, speech, mind. They are likened to three doors because we express all that we do through action, thought and words. The evolution of these events derives from the perception of our mind that causes all of our akusala related to mind, body and society. As Gampola has said: "The root of all faults and sufferings is [self-restraint]. Abhidharma has said:Italy is the karma of the
action (body) and the speech (speech) is created by thought.
Although we can not avoid creating karma, we can choose between happiness and suffering, because we can choose to act as positive or negative and these behaviors will produce good or bad karma. bad karma Buddhist books list 10 good deeds and 10 unwholesome acts, or kamma, which we create with our body, speech and mind.
The three unwholesome states of the body are (1) killing, (2) theft, and (3) sexual misconduct. The four unwholesome behaviors are: (4) lying, (5) lying, (6) lying, and (7) talking nonsense. The three unwholesome acts of the mind are (8) greed, lust, (9) intentional harm and (10) false views.
10 good deeds pertaining to the renunciation of 10 unwholesome deeds. They include physical actions such as (1) protecting others (2) doing charity and (3) living virtue; (4) speak verbally, (5) speak conciliatory, (6) speak calmly and (7) satisfy others with meaningful words; and mental activities such as (8) tolerance, generosity, (9) loving kindness, and (10) righteous thoughts.
The most important factor in determining whether our karma is good or not is our motive or intention. Je Tsongkhapa said, "Just as a magnet can naturally make a piece of iron move, so does our mind, which causes our mind to be attracted to good or bad thoughts. neutral".
If our thoughts are severely affected by the three kinds of illicit drugs, hatred and ignorance, whatever we do, say or think, we also create akusala kamma and will reap the consequences. unfortunate. Nagarjuna says:
The kamma created by greed, hatred and ignorance is akusala
kamma . Kamma is the cause of suffering.
With rebirth in the lower realms.
On the contrary, if we are motivated by loving-kindness, selflessness and wisdom - that is, in contrast to the three kinds of poison - then whatever we do, say or think, we create good karma and we will certainly have good results. Nagarjuna said:
Kamma is created not by greed, hatred and ignorance.
Karma will bring reincarnation into the happy realms
And all the happiness for many lives to follow.
If our minds are mixed both good and bad, our karma is confused as well. And if our minds are neutral, we will create neutral karmas and these karmas bring unhappy and non-suffering results and create rebirths in the realms. Not high nor low.
Some people may wonder why sometimes we see good people suffering and bad people being happy. The answer is that it depends on how different karma will ripen. Each of us creates countless karma in our countless lives. Each of our actions leaves a mark on the consciousness of our mind. A skin again (Sanskrit: alayavijnana , Tibetan: kunzhi, kungzhi) is the neutral, calm and unconscious state of the mind. It is the basis of the samsaric experience. The karmic practices that have been inscribed into the consciousness of our mind become a certain force that will bring forth results in our future lives. These results, which may be positive, negative or neutral experiences, are the maturation of the karmic seed we have planted in our consciousness, in the natural course of the their actions and consequences. The Buddha says: "The
sun is like the ocean, and the
characteristics of karma are like waves.
Therefore, the unwholesome person is enjoying themselves now because they are enjoying the results of their good behavior in the past and the good man is suffering because he or she is suffering the result of a defilement action. his pole in the past. But when these karmas have been paid off, the inscriptions of other karmas are accumulated in the consciousness of their minds.
How will the ruling be done? The general principle is that the strongest, the most serious, the most violent ones will ripen first. Next is the karma we create at the decisive moment when we die. The third is the kamma we experience the longest and most familiar. Then, the karma we experience will be in chronological order, starting with the karmas we created first. Thus, we will experience some karmic effects in this life, some in the afterlife and others in later life.
Although we have countless karmas, we do not feel their presence because they are potential and not yet mature. But when a kamma comes to maturity, it will start to work and we will be influenced by it in our lives. Buddhist scriptures give the same analogy as when a person is bitten by a poisonous mouse. If the person is bitten in winter, the poison is not effective. But in the spring, when the person hears the thunder (which is a signal for a change of season), the poison will be activated, damaging it. Therefore, our kamma will certainly begin to ripen when the time comes, if we do not do anything to get rid of it. The Buddha taught that
karma caused by sentient beings
will never dissipate after a hundred years.
When circumstances and time come,
Karma will certainly ripen.
However, if we neutralize and purify the negative karmas, we can change, reduce or even obliterate those karmas. A very strong positive karma can remove many negative karmas. Our motives are as pure and intense as our positive karma is. We should never underestimate the results that pure intentions bring. The Buddha taught:
A worthwhile act though small
In the next life will create great joy.
And achieve great goals.
As seeds bring a bountiful crop.
Yet the opposite is true. A strong evil action can reduce or obliterate many good behaviors.
Although the motivation for our actions is the most important factor, the potential of a particular kamma depends on whether the kamma is complete or not, ie it goes through the following four stages. . Let's try charity action as an example. First of all, we need something to give. That is called the object (or base) of karma. Next, we need a very important motive. The third is the specific action taken, called execution . When the gift is given to the recipient, it is the fulfillment. Any action that consists of these four stages is a fully formed kamma which will bring about full karma.
This karmic effect has unlimited endless influence. A single kamma can produce many results. A single result may also be the product of many causes and conditions. While experiencing the results of a kamma, we can generate many new karmic causations. Every aspect and every moment of life, we are created and maintained by a network of interdependent origination , which means that all existence is connected, arising and operating depending. each other.
Beyond karmic retribution
Right now, karma is a fact of life. However, our ultimate goal is how to transcend karma. We do this when we awaken to the state of complete enlightenment and no longer ego. When we liberate ourselves from karmic causation, we become free to help countless beings in innumerable ways because we have total comprehension to know exactly which sentient beings need each other. and we also have the capacity to appear in whatever form and sound to best help sentient beings.The way to go beyond karma is through the path of positive karma. Creating more and more good karma, we reap more and more peace. And the happier we are, the more peace we create. This will slowly loosen the tight bond of our ego. At last we glimpse the true essence of our mind. If we complete this awareness, we will eliminate all attachment and become fully awakened. In this way, the path of good karma leads us, not a state of "out there", to the immediate state of peace and joy that is present in each of us. .
Is life an illusion?
Some doctrines say that life is an illusion; Others believe that life is created by kamma. To the realized masters who are no longer affected by the law of cause and effect, the world to them is only an illusion, uncertain and unreal. To them, there is nothing that anger or attachment because things to them are just illusions.However, for most of us, life seems solid and real. As long as we live in karmic cause, we must strictly follow its strict rules. The phenomena seem to have survived and continued because of our own karmic tendencies. It's like a dream: because we are sleeping, we still believe it is true.
Buddhist teachings teach that the world is created by the mind. But we may wonder how our minds create a solid mountain in front of us? No one says that the mind has created the mountain. It is the concept of the mountain that is created by the mind. Without the mind - whether the mountain is there or not - the idea, name or thought of the existence or absence of the mountain will not arise. So the idea and the name "mountain" is the product of the mind. The Buddha says in the Karmashataka:
Many different karmas
have created different worlds.
And in the Mahakarunapundarika , the Buddha says:
The world is created and manifested by karma.
Sentient beings created by karma.
Sentient beings are born of kamma.
Sentient beings are differentiated by karma.
In Abhidhamma:
The diversity of the world generated by karma.
Some people may wonder: If life is like an illusion, trying to improve our condition is useful. After all, our lives are based on our reactions and reflections on our mental habits that these things actually do not have the essence. However, we must try to improve our life as illusory. Otherwise we still suffer from illusions such as illusions. Because we do not realize that they are like illusions, we suffer as if they were real.
The importance of understanding of karma
When we really know about karma, we will not be tempted to do an unhealthy act even as the smallest act. And instead of waiting for the impurities we are carrying in the flow of our mind to bear fruit and ruin our lives, we should begin to purge them now.In my monastery in Tibet, before my time there, there was a great monk named Khenpo Damcho. As a kid, he could not remember the lesson. One day, his teacher sat in front of him and told him to repeat a single sentence according to him 100 times, so the teacher and the game instead of reading it. When he finished, the teacher told him to repeat the sentence alone - but he could not remember it. So the teacher asked the boy to read a short note of the Buddha of Pure Land 100,000 times. As soon as the boy finished reading, his memory changed completely and since then he studied very well. The boy grew up, becoming one of the greatest scholars of his time. Why so? The reading of the note has created positive karmas and these karmas have dissipated the negative karmas that have clogged up his memory.
We can also change our karma if we work in the right direction. The secret is that we have to train our minds from good kamma to good kamma and then perfectness, that is, achieving complete liberation from the karmic network of illusion. Once we begin to taste the success of our efforts, our confidence in karma and in meditation will grow and will be firmly anchored in the core of our mind.
LIFE LIFE RETURNS
We all aspire to happiness. But as long as we are too preoccupied with samsara, with the activities of this mundane world, we will never find happiness because the world is full of resentment and suffering. It is understandable that we have received a stir or an inspiration that led us in the right direction, just as the missile was being launched towards its goal.
Sometimes people criticize Buddhism for being pessimistic because life is suffering. But as Walpola Rahula, a world-renowned scholar, states: "Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic. We can only say that Buddhism is real. Buddhism sees everything objectively. "
When we really see the nonsense of seeking happiness in this world as we illusory, we will cease to blame ourselves for failing to live a beautiful and everlasting life and instead we will follow the path leading to nirvana, end suffering. This is the wisdom of the path and the goal.
Facing the suffering of the secular world is important for another reason. If we want to reach the goal, we need to start from where we are, not from where we imagine we must be. That is why the Buddha's first sermon was the "truth of suffering," the first of the four noble truths at the center of his doctrine. And that is why we also have to objectively consider our lives. If our lives are engulfed in confusion and misery then we should acknowledge it and know that it is the launching pad, where we begin our path of extinction.
Suffering: First Noble Truth
Let's take a deeper look at the nature of suffering we suffer. We are no strangers to the suffering we see around us, such as depression, grief, sorrow and sickness. In Buddhism, the suffering that everyone recognizes is called "suffering."If we look closely, we will find another type of suffering that has a slight impact on all our joys and our satisfaction: it is the fear that all good things will come to naught. End or change. Our children will grow up and leave us; Our beloved ones will die; We will lose our beauty and strength. Not only are all good things going to end but they can turn into the opposite and become the source of suffering: Our financial investments can ultimately make our stomachs ulcer; Tobacco can cause us to have lung cancer. This is called "suffering caused by change".
At a more profound level there is "suffering all over". This type of suffering is inherent in the five aggregates (the five components of human existence: form, feeling, perception, volition, consciousness). In those five aggregates, nothing really makes us happy. As a famous saying of the Buddha: "Everything that is composed (conditioned things) must change and disappear." Dhamma is the result of causes and conditions. They are created by the causes of suffering, the unhealthy karmas of binary notions and defilements. They are conditioned and become part of suffering.
On the one hand, this overwhelming pain has permeated the world, so much so that we are almost no longer able to recognize it. Part of the reason we do not realize this pain is that we do not know about any other image of life and therefore we have nothing to compare with our lives.
So, let's look at our situation from the point of view of the gods. In my book Enlightened Journey(Enlightened journey), I offer a simple illustration: Imagine that we have a body with light like a rainbow like the body of beings in the realm of the gods. It is a non-material light body that can help us fly through space as we move. There is no darkness around and no need for the light of the sun or the moon, because our own body light illuminates the area around us. There is no physical pain or pressure because our bodies are immaterial, indestructible and can not be destroyed. We enjoy such a body for a very long time. Then one day, this light body suddenly transformed into a body of meat, bones and blood wrapped in a leather bag filled with filthy stuff. We can only move slowly step by step on the ground with the bones of our feet. We can not see anything without light from other light sources. We can easily crush, crush, pierce, break into pieces, or cut into pieces, never heal and walk back, if we do not always observe, né Avoid and weigh things carefully. This will be an unbearable form of suffering. Avoid and consider everything carefully. This will be an unbearable form of suffering. Avoid and consider everything carefully. This will be an unbearable form of suffering.
Of course, the happiness of the gods can not be compared to the joy of ultimate enlightenment. Because the gods also exist within samsara, they must necessarily suffer. When their good karma is over, they will die in terrible sorrow, because they feel the painful future awaiting their next rebirth in one of the lower realms.
We must remember that Buddhism teaches us that all beings have Buddha-nature in their true nature. That is the goal that we must achieve in many ways such as meditation. But for most of us, Buddhahood is obscured by the disturbance caused by kamma that is rooted in egoism and exacerbated by emotional disturbances. As a result, we have fallen into the illusory nightmares of kissing and suffering, and we have to suffer endless wandering in the six realms of samsara, just like the potter's wheel keep rotating
Buddha taught:
Due to ignorance, hunger and movement
In the world of heaven, people and three lower realms,
In these five realms beings turn around stupid,
It was like a potter's turn of rotation.
Like a bee humming around a closed room, we will continue to reincarnate in many different realms depending on the characteristics of the karma we have created so far.
1. If our minds are filled with anger and we harm others, when we die, our perceptions will arise in the form of hell reincarnation . The characteristics of the hell realm - hot and cold, pain and sadness, oppression and hatred - will become our lives.
2. If we are stingy, stingy After death, we will see that we are reborn in poverty, suffering day and night, hungry, thirsty and destitute - the characteristics of the hungry ghost.
3. If our minds and actions are dull, stupid , we will realize that we are born as animals and insects. We will suffer for idleness, torture, slavery, slaughter - experiences of the animal kingdom.
4. If we are heavily influenced by jealousy , we will realize that we are born into the world of intolerant souls, or aspirants . In that realm, because of fear and jealousy, we are constantly being drawn into fighting and intrigue.
5. If the Arrogance is the hallmark of our thoughts and actions. When we die, our perception will appear as the awareness of gods in the heavens and there we will waste our time in our pastimes. pleasure until we die and plunge into the lower realms.
6. If the characteristics of our mind and our actions are desire and attachment , we will be reborn as human beings.
Although humanity gives us the best opportunity for spiritual progress, when we are reincarnated as human beings, we face the great risk that we can change our minds to go astray. fall into the lower realms. It is impossible to say in advance, that we can be so jealous and hateful that we do something terrible to respond to the bruises of life. Being human is also a struggle and there is no guarantee that we will have enough strength to practice.
Think about the struggles we face from birth to death. First of all, we must go through the stage of birth and childhood. Then, if lucky, we will spend the next 20 years studying. Then, we spend the spring green building families and spend most of our time working to make a living. Then retire and old age is not good. Soon, we will find it difficult to travel, sleep and daily activities. Enough sickness will make us day and night anxious, painful and hungry. We can dissipate what we earn and save our youth.
Eventually death will wait in front of the door and life will end. Our bodies will permanently disappear from this earth when its components mix with the elements of the earth. After all, our names are no longer remembered in this world. Only our consciousness moves - and we go around in the realms unless we attain liberation and are reborn in a pure land where we will never be rotten. It is spiritual and one day it will be liberated.
In all of these struggles, man has suffered four hardships throughout his life: the fear of accepting what we do not want and losing what we love, and the We are miserable because we do not have what we want and must meet what we hate.
The only correct solution is to let ourselves out of this misery by experiencing the following three stages:
- Recognize our negative attitudes, emotions, and behaviors.
- Moving from negative to positive.
- Transform from positive to perfect.
We must realize that our lives are mostly negative and suffering. Then we should come up with the urge to free ourselves from the prison of our own creation. We need to move from negative to positive by following the path of peace, bliss, love and a positive attitude. Finally, we must reach perfection and liberate ourselves from our dependence on fear, suffering and the desire for happiness, by awakening the mind of our mind.
Buddhism gives us a way to liberate ourselves from the root of suffering by step by step forging, and this practice will bring us straight to the point of complete enlightenment. Thus Buddhism advocates an openness, a revolutionary viewpoint that avoids extremism of pessimism or optimism. Nagarjuna says:
Whoever can attain
Nirvana, he can attain all.
POTENTIALITY OF LIVING
Many people have a gentle, cheerful and intelligent nature. Their presence alone can bring peace and happiness to the people around them. If only we could develop this capacity and effort, none of us would be able to awaken those qualities from our hearts. One of us also has sense. Our true qualities are peace, bliss and wisdom. Our negative emotions and unhealthy expressions are just defilements - a pollution - not our true nature.
That is why Buddhism teaches us that life is precious, that we can use impermanence to improve our lives, that we can use the law to make sure there is a death. Peace and joyful reincarnation, and that we can all be enlightened, because this is only the manifestation of the nature that is in us. We can attain peace and enlightenment not only for this life but also for many generations to come, not only for ourselves but for countless others.
The choice is by us. If we nurture a sense of well-being, have positive perception, and strengthen these good habits in our mind, this consciousness will transform our lives and our xinxing. Suffering situations will have little effect on us and the power of peace will prevail. But if we do not use life now, in the future, we may fall into a state of ignorance, fear, and suffering.
To achieve this goal, we must follow the spiritual path. It can be any path that creates peace, loosening the grip of our clinging mind, cleansing our afflictions, making our words and deeds more subtle. This is the only way to transform our negative habits into good karma and express our wisdom.
Our pathway may include one or all of the following practices:
- Meditation tracks the breath and consciousness of one's breath at every moment to bring peace to the soul and awakens the mind of contemplation.
- Nurture the thoughts and emotions of love, compassion for others and practice compassion by serving the needs of others without any selfish thought.
- Devotion to a divine being always helps to open up our minds, eradicating our mental distress and all our emotional limitations.
- Awareness of seeing and transforming all objects of mind into positive benefits.
- Open minded attitudes towards the awareness of the unity of subjectivity and objectivity.
- Trying to see and feel that what is happening in life is as illusory as a dream created and reinforced by the tendencies of our mind.
Sleeping people sometimes know that they are dreaming and what is happening is just a dream. There are ways in which we can train ourselves to gain such awareness, a method called waking consciousness. We can practice "awakening" nightmares and realize that they are dreams, and thereby cause fear or threat to become ineffective and transform it into something positive. . Likewise, after death, when we are in the midst of a warm-hearted state, if we can realize that our experiences in the medium are illusory, all the terrible experiences will be. It becomes ineffective and can transform into positive effects.
It is said that if we practice yoga the dream will be able to recognize states after death (states of ultimate nature and intermediate states, or transitional stages) as they are. - not real and illusion. It is also said that if seven times we realize our dreams are only dreams, we will be able to recognize the medium body. In fact, some say that the experiences in the medium are more variable than the experiences of the dream.
According to Tsele, our ideas are the most important thing when we train to deal with dreams and the medium. We must form a habit of reminding ourselves that everything we do or see is a dream or a medium, an intermediate stage. If we meditate deeply on this truth, we will surely succeed in dealing with the medium after death.
In order to be successful in preparing for death and after death, Mahayana Buddhism (one of the great schools of Buddhism) advises us to first find a reliable teacher Status. Then, we must learn the teachings of these teachers. We must thoroughly analyze what we learn and strengthen our experience of the wisdom of these teachings through meditation. We must open our minds and hearts to all sentient beings, to love sentient beings like loving the mother who gave birth to us, forgetting to take care of us when we were young. We must meet all sentient beings with a compassionate attitude. We must train on the six paramitas: generosity, morality, patience, diligence, meditation and wisdom to realize the true truth.
In this life, I wish to have a spiritual life,
To please the spiritual teacher, To
believe in the intelligence of study, to analyze and meditate, To
train the renunciation, the attitude enlightenment and pacifism.
The Great Teachings teach us that it is important to know what to do after death, when we encounter "the essence of light" and the "illuminated illusion". natural appearance "in the stage of ultimate nature. To know what to do, we must meditate actively in this very life. First of all, we have to understand the true nature of the mind and must maintain it, strengthening it by reflecting it. Once we know our true nature, we will be aware of everything that comes to mind - all that arises in our consciousness, both alive and in the dead - is presence and Expressions of the very nature itself. Therefore, Longchen Rabjam has advised:
While we live, at this present moment of our lives,
We must be sure to understand the wisdom of our own understanding as dharma.
Then maintain the capacity of natural meditation in a state of self-clarity.
Then all phenomena will arise as the energy of the intellect present.
We have a wonderful opportunity in this life to realize our essence, the Buddha, if we follow the right path of spirituality and achieve great accomplishment.
We also have a wonderful opportunity to transfer our consciousness to a pure land if we have the devotion of the Buddhas and the pure realms such as the Buddha of Infinite Light and the Pureland of Pure Land. If we practice Phowa meditation, - transcendental consciousness, we can regenerate directly into the Pure Land, and thus do not have to go through different stages of the process of dying. Another meditator can also perform Phowa for us while we are alive, dying or in the intermediate period, transition period.
If we do not achieve great spiritual accomplishments, even if we have accumulated much merit, we will still suffer from the experience of the dying process. END=NAM MO SAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=THICH CHAN TANH.VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.7/11/2018.
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