Buddhist monks and nuns.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.
[03] Chapter threeThe formation of amnels-ooOoo- While searching for the great path, the Buddha asserted: "I will bring intellectual light to a life covered by darkness of ignorance. I will free life from old age, death and all suffering" . Because of the compassion, the Buddha instead of enjoying the unfulfilled Nirvana after the witness, he returned to the world, sending the message of suffering to mankind. He is a Mou-ni (Muni: static), has become a Dao Master to teach people to destroy ignorance. He taught his Congregation as Sangha monks of the four directions (Catùdìsa Bikkhusangha), he always instructed his disciples to "for the benefit and happiness of the majority". Since then, Buddhism entered the world. Sangha means collective community and society. The organization and activities of the Sangha quickly got out of the meaning of giving up life, wandering around, solitary life of contemporary sects to take on a different form, suitable for the mission of liberation for life. life. Now, we consider the life form of the Sangha, from the wandering life, from the residence of a tree, a rock, a cave to a hut, a house to a monastery, a monastery; that is the process of settling into a settlement life. This is a special form of Buddhist Sangha compared to other contemporary congregations. * * * The above part of the book talked about the life of wandering with almsgiving, a common activity of Satan groups of all denominations at that time. Obviously one must realize that Satan's almsgiving was not going from house to house, meeting each person to ask for alms of rice out of pity for the poor and sick, without relatives; even more is not a livelihood due to laziness, incompetence, inadequate labor force to support themselves. On the contrary, begging here is to perform an act of great moral significance. It is accepting a life of poverty, no private property, no material desires, and begging, which allows others to show kindness, to let go of their possessions to give alms, to share matter. for others, it is not to mention satisfying a kind, positive mentality, The weather in India does not allow Satan to go alms year round. The rainy season usually begins mid-June of the calendar and lasts for three months. The whole sky was cloudy, the rain poured heavily, the water flooded the roads, the water rose, and the rivers and lakes became vast. Insect centipede snakes crawl on the path, sidewalk, tree stump, porch, pavement, etc. Cultivation and trade are also delayed. In general, all normal activities are hindered, slowed or stopped altogether to wait for the end of the rainy season. Therefore, the monks who are wandering for alms also temporarily suspend their travel to take shelter somewhere. The shelter waits for the end of this rainy season, Brahminism called Dhruvasìla, Jainism called Pajjusama, and Buddhism called Vassa. Thus, rainy season retreat has been a common practice for congregations. But Brahminism and Jainism do not mention "living together" during the rainy season. The Brahmin scriptures only say "to live in one place" (Ekatra), or "to a specified place" (Dhruvasìla). Jainism allows the teacher (Acàryopadhijàna) to live together. In the days from the establishment of the Sangha - the old until as the Sutras say that includes one thousand two hundred and fifty monks, before the first rainy season retreat in Truc Lam (Veluvana) by King Bimbisàra, the Buddhist Sangha Catholicism is still wandering like other congregations. Bhikkhus are mostly Arahants, still living individually or in small groups in forests, in rock caves, in huts, that are foresters (Arannakas). Until the congregation became larger, some embryonic precepts in the form of "should do", "should not do ...", monks from all over the place gathered around the Buddha to listen to him. teaching and declaring precepts. And when the congregation was too crowded, the gathering in one place became inconvenient because the roads were far away, because the meeting place was not enough ... so the Buddha allowed monks depending on each region to gather. together in groups, have the discipline, the rules to chant the precepts, learn from each other ... especially since the Buddha made the settling season mandatory - due to the fact that many monks still went to the village In the rainy season, the neighbors and streets were in a state of silence when the religious groups of all denominations were hidden, causing negative public opinion among the masses - the sense of coexistence among the monks became strong, evident. markedly during the settling season. To prepare for settling down, the monks had to build tents by themselves. A set of tents in close proximity, perhaps a large meeting room, or a clinic or a private tent in the same estate. All are built with lightweight and easy-to-find materials such as wood, bamboo, mud, soil, leaves ... Private tents can be assembled together into rows of rooms, and can be erected high up into a guard. or two-story, the kind of residence as just presented is called Âvasa, in the countryside, in the forest. A kind of residence called Anrah is urban establishments set up, large, spacious, and comfortable, often located in a large, beautiful garden, offered by wealthy lay people for a while. term or permanent. Big, famous monasteries such as Veluvana (Truc Lam), Jetavana (Ky Vien or Thang Lam), etc., are all Abramas. The Abasas (the rural residents) or the Abramas (the urban residents) are the non-settling lands but only the monasteries during the rainy season. But as later, the monasteries in the rainy season followed with the number of monks and were built firmly and more comfortably. Bhikkhus, after three months of settling in, leave the country to return to their old place next year, where you find it convenient, have suitable friends ... Each Âvasa or Âràma is an area with a certain scope, determined by the lines called the boundary (Sàà). As a rule, the area of a residence is calculated in a square. We distinguish two types of boundaries (boundaries): the natural boundary and fixed boundary. The natural boundary takes landmarks in nature such as rivers, large stumps, rocks ... each side is 1 km wide if the area has people's houses; or wider, approximately two kilometers if in the woods; or withdraw less than one hundred meters if it is in a dangerous area (such as a wild animal). The fixed precept is the outline formed through the Sangha meeting procedure. If the residence is spacious, including enough lecture halls, rooms ... the outline consists of two classes; The outer ring is called the great world, each surface is nearly twenty kilometers, including people's houses (about the residence of the monks and nuns, the great precepts are only about two kilometers per surface). The inner ring includes the hall, The residences for settling can be large and small depending on the groups of monks living together (Âvàsika). Want to become a part of the Sangha with living, rights, discipline ... then the minimum quorum must include four monks and no maximum limit, the number of monks possible up to a few thousand. The monks live in each country, individually, make their own decisions as they are often called the Sangha Vuong Xa, the Sangha Phe-amn-ly, the Sang-old Xa-guard ... so many large, small and individual units are due to the large number of monks, there are monks, going to different places to spread the teachings, to develop the Sangha in any region, is still the Sangha of the four directions, with unified character. A bhikkhu can go from one unit to another for living and gathering and, in principle, the new unit must arrange and create good conditions for the new bhikkhu to arrive. This is a very common occurrence in the Buddhist Congregation. Initially, a residence just needs to equip the minimum amenities such as seats, seats, roof, wall ... Due to the policy of poverty, begging, so the residence has no storage room, no kitchen. núc ... Later, the number of monks was larger, many were sick, there was a need for lay people to cook, more and more offerings of lay people, so there was a place to store things. Life in each residence is relatively more comfortable than before. The vasas (residing in the secluded area), due to their unsustainable nature because they are built of light materials, by unprofessional hands (monks), although they require a lot of construction work, often damaged or stolen materials when uninhabited. In order to avoid the effort of rebuilding the accommodation, the monks often return to their old place in the rainy season next year. In order to have the accommodation well preserved, they must take turns to stay and look after; and because of its convenience, some of them stayed in the country for a long time after the retreat season. Since then, the settlement lifestyle has tended to take shape. The Abramas (urban residents) offered by the rich laypeople seemed to be spacious and comfortable, including some maids, the gathering of monks in different places was increasing. The number of new bhikkhus arriving at a time is not small, so it is necessary to have the arrangement, preparation in advance and the personnel mobilization, items, organizing activities for the settling season. Therefore, some monks in charge of this work, of course, must live here settlingly before and after the settling season and possibly extend from year to year. At this point, the congregation's activities have changed in terms of form. Settlement has taken shape, although almsgiving is always respected. The Abramas are everywhere. A quick look at the Truc Lam monastery (Vekuvana) at Vuong Xa offered by King Bimbisàra is clear: The king asked for the Buddha's permission and was approved for many maids (Anamika) and the Supervisor (Âràmika-pesaka ) to look after, take care of the clinic. The number of people was so large that it was assembled into a commune called "Pilinda-gàma". It was noted at that time that there were dozens of monasteries organized on a large scale to make offerings to the Buddhist congregation: Veluvanàràma (Trúc Lâm) near Ràjagaha (Vương Xá); Pubhàràma to the East of Vuong Xa; Jìvakàrama in Rājagaha; Ambapāli-Vana in Vesali (Bhikkhu-amnesty-ly); Markathrada (Hau Trach) was near Vesali; Udambari-Kàràma (Uu-Talk-Bà-ly) or also known as Paribbàja Kàràma on the river Sappini, Kukkutàràma; Chositàràma; Badaritàràma, Pàvàrikàniavana; Ghosavati-àràma were in Kosambi (Kieu-thieu-di), Jetavanàràma (Period-complete) in Sàvatthi (Xa-guard), Nigrodhàràma (Ni-verse-da) in Kapilavatthu (Ca-la-la-guard), Isipatana ( Loc Uyen) in Baranàsi (Ba-la-complaint) etc .. Among the above-mentioned monasteries, three famous monasteries have been recorded by archaeologists and documented: Jivakàràma, Jetavanàràma and Ghositàràma. As for the other monasteries, only their names are found, some others only have old ground, some architectural traces. The following are some sketches of the three famous monasteries mentioned above, based on the documents by Sukumar Dutt (Buddhist Monks and Monasteries of India - G. Allen and Unwin LTD. London, 1962 ). Jìvàkàràma (Amnesty Ky-bah) Originally a mango garden on the outskirts of Rājagaha (monk), not far from the foot of Gradhrakuta mountain (the Buddha used to go to this mountain when he came to the Relics). The donor of this monastery was Jìvaka, a famous medical and surgeon in the Buddha's time. Many stories about Jìvaka in the Pāli language of the Theravada Sutras and in Sanskrit (Sanskrit) of the Sarvastivada. Mahavagga VIII (Theravada) tells that Jìvaka, who was the son of a nobleman of King Xa named Sàlavati, was thrown in the trash, picked up by Prince Abhaya (Jìkava means "one who is still alive"). , maybe when the baby was picked up the trash, Abhaya exclaimed). Jikàva was sent to study medicine at Takkasilà, the center of contemporary art studies. The rich man Jìvaka returned to Vuong Xa, very famous for his medical profession, very rich. He used to take care of the Buddha's health and was very respectful of him, he also taught medical practitioners to some of the Buddha's monks. His gift to the Congregation was this large monastery, built in a large mango garden. Put the baby in a basket, seal it and send it to the king, the king handed it over to Prince Abhaya, who is also the king's circular child, raising ...). Archaeologists have dug and have found the ground of this relic. It was a large area in which there were two large oval-shaped blocks separated by a large courtyard. In the front, there was another row of large oval-shaped houses. There are also large and small suites on the front and sides, arranged vertically and horizontally. Front and back both have large courtyards. Surrounded by walls. Outside, near the wall, the left side has a pottery cellar. They also found here some iron nails, bricks, animal statues, pottery made of raw earth. The walls were probably built of bricks and mud mixed with mud, and the roof was probably covered with pictures. Jetavanàràma (Amnesty Period) The monastery was paired with the name Anàthapindika, which is the largest and most famous. It was here that the Buddha spent nineteen seasons of retreat (there are documents said that twenty-five seasons of retreat). The people of this distant worshiper is Anàthapindika, the head of wealth (Setthì) of Sàvatthi (Xa-guard), he used to come to Ràjagaha to have a job, aiming at the first year that the Buddha was cultivating here. He went to his brother-in-law's house, saw the place crowded with house preparation, took part in partying, and asked if he knew that the family was preparing to make offerings to the Buddha and his monks and disciples. All night, he was restless and unable to sleep; The next morning, he got up very early, when it was not morning he hurried to the Buddha. For the first time, he admired the Blessed One, at that time He woke up and was walking in the cold morning. He came to pay homage to him, introduced himself and requested the Buddha and his disciples the next day to come to his place to be a son, the Buddha accepted the invitation. The next day, during the half-moon offering, he again requested the Buddha and the monks to come to Sàvatthi, where he was staying, to settle in next year's rainy season. The petition is also accepted. On the way back to Sàvatthi, someone who met Anàthapindika also cried out: "Hey gentlemen, prepare the monastery, the monastery, get ready the items. A Buddha has appeared in the world. I invited him and he will return. Here "(Culla Vagga VI, 4,8 - Small Products). At Sàvatthi, he kept searching for a suitable place to stay for the Buddha and the monks and finally realized that the garden of Prince Jeta (Ky-da) was the most ideal, he immediately asked to buy. The owner of the garden is already too rich, does not need money but also plays with a price that is too high. Anàthapindika is convenient and prepared to meet the price conditions. But Prince Jeta changed his mind, refused to sell the garden. The matter had to be brought before the magistrate and Anàthapindika was dealt with for the purchase of the garden. He drove each car of gold coins to spread the ground as a contractual condition, only where there were trees could not be spread, He immediately asked what his master's intentions were because the covenant did not state this point. Impressed by the great mind's sincerity, the crown prince ignored the above detail and donated the trees (so that in the Sutras it is often recorded at the beginning of the Sutras, in the section Duyen Khoi, the teachings of the Buddha were "at the garden). of Class Co-Lon, the tree of Prince Ky-da (Grade Co-Tu, Ky-da-long or Longevity) .After that, he built a large, fully equipped monastery. Types of rooms, lecture halls, kitchens, warehouses, toilets, promenades, open-pit wells, wells with covers, beaches, bathrooms, lakes ..., each of which is built into many. .. (these details are recorded in Mahà Vagga III, 5,6). Jetavana is still a monastery that lasts for several hundred years. By the 5th century after the Western calendar, when Phap Hien from China to India came to worship Jetavana, this place was still a small monastery, must be built on the old foundation and the shaman also talked to you. the priest is here. Two hundred years later, the shaman Huyen Trang came to Jetavana again, now all were destroyed, only two stone pillars, each twenty-five meter high by King Asoka (Ashoka, reigned from 264 to 227 BC. calendar) construction at the east gate of the monastery. It should also be noted that when it comes to Jetavana, one cannot forget a nearby residence of a famous benefactor, the very devoted guardian of the Buddhist congregation, Migàramàtà (Loc Mau). While staying in Sàvatthi, the Buddha stayed in Jetavana and here too. Ghositàràma (Amnesty Cu-la-la) This amnesty in Kosambi (Kieu-thieu-di) was built by the chief Ghosita. Ghosita and his two colleagues, Kukkuta and Pàvàriya, both adore the Monks. One day to hear the Buddha and his congregation come to Sàvatthi, all three of them did not mind the distant roads, going north, to Kosala, to Sàvatthi to see the Buddha and listen to the Dharma. They became disciples of the Buddha and returned, each of whom built a large monastery to make offerings to the Buddhist congregation, inviting the Buddha and the monks to come to Kosambi to lecture. Probably the largest, most sustainable monastery built by Ghosita. Here the Buddha preached many important sutras. This monastery was also the continuous residence of monks until more than a thousand years later, when it was destroyed by the Hung invading Kosambi. In 1955-1956, Allahabad University sent G. R Sharma to head an archeology team organized by the Institute excavated in Kosambi (now Allahabad district) and found traces of this monastery. * * * As has been said, the Abasas and Abramas are collective residences, although they may be a gathering of a group of friendly and friendly monks, but still the character of the Four-way Sangha. It is natural that a Bhikkhu in Avàsa or Anàma goes to another Sangha for living. That of course has hindered the arrangement and organization. Again, once there is an agreement to live together and organize into a Sangha unit, the members stick closely together in activities, gather, know each other, learn, guide each other, Since then, the practice of advancement has more favorable opportunities and when it comes to the settlement form, it becomes more difficult for monks to enter the Sangha unit. This is the basis of the formation of the Lena, ie monasteries or academies. First of all, Lena means private residence, in Sanskrit called Layana, the verb of the verb Li, meaning to shelter. Later, it is difficult to distinguish the content characteristics of the words Âvara, Âràma, Lena which are some words of Lena type such as Vihàra, Addhaya, Pàsàda, Hammiya, Guhà ... All are used to indicate shelter, The first is a hut made of wood, bamboo, leaves in the forest to avoid wind, rain, heat, cold, wild animals ... during the settlement of a monk. Vihàra is used to refer to all the adjacent huts of bhikkhus, a group of bhikkhus, the meaning is not different from the word Âvasa already discussed. Vihàra in the time of the Buddha may not be as large as the Arahas, for in the Culla Vagga IV it is mentioned that an elder in Rājagaha completed the construction of sixty Vihāras in just one day. Several other words used to indicate Lena are synonymous with Vihàra as mentioned. Addhaya, Pàsàda, Hammiya, Gùha ... often differ only a little in the way of architecture: Pàsàda is only a large structure with floors; Hammiya is like Pàsàda but the top floor is a room built like the last floor of a tower; Guhà is a large rock or laterite architecture modeled after natural caves. Two forms to differentiate are the brick Vihàra mostly located in the North of India and the Güha built of large boulders, laterite in southern India. Both types are great monasteries and institutes. It can be said that the nouns used to indicate the residence of the above-mentioned monks are many more and the meaning of each noun has changed a lot over time. People often do not pay much attention to distinguish each type of residence of the Buddhist congregation, because no matter what kind of residence, the activities, practice, teaching is still enough. * * * Formal development, manifested by the establishment of many residences, including many of these types are not in fact to improve the material life of monks, much less to flaunt Buddhism. Although both of these ideas are not absent from the minds of some Buddhists due to devotion to an appropriate, practical religion. This is just a naturally formed organization of a community that is always young and fresh. But the life of monks in the Congregation always shows the spirit of simplicity, meager, nobility and poverty. It is not clear in the "Four Medicine" that the Master instructs the new Bhikkhu to take the monastic life: use algae chalk clothes, live by alms, sleep under trees, use medicine to cure diseases. from herbs. A bhikkhu always remembers the Buddha's warning that although it is possible to stay in a sheltered house, such a residence is very dangerous, easy to spoil the gathering path. In the case of offerings, monks are only allowed to receive all kinds of robes, food, accommodation, medicinal herbs ... in the spirit of solitude, frugality, tran1h all luxuries. The Buddha taught:
Many disciples of the Buddha's monastic life have left the luxury lifestyle but live a poor, pure life: Xa-benefits-waving, Section-karmic-inter, Da-amnesty, Nai-tra-la-la ( Ratthapàla), La-ma-la, Dai-ca-lettuce, A-nan, etc ... So many monks have asked for the Buddha's permission to live alone in the forest ... It is through living alone in the forest that the bhikkhus feel the serenity of the Buddha's teachings. In the Elderly Sangha (Theragàthà), we see countless poems praising a life close to nature. Here are some sentences, quoted from Kimura taiken ( Originally Buddhist ideology - translated according to the Chinese version of Au Duong Bao Ton):
Thus, the life of settling in the monasteries of monks is because of wanting to enter the world of salvation, wanting to study with teachers, with friends, according to the development situation of an organized religion. But almsgiving, poverty is the basis of a Buddhist monk. Due to the settlement and immigration, Buddhism has grown, with the support of the masses. The monks who brought the Dharma into life, the Sangha's living and teaching habits at that time had a great influence on the society. Buddhism, by its activities in the heart of society, contributes a number of novelties to Indian civilization and culture and to the whole human race. And, it can be said that Buddhism has formed a new culture.END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.22/8/2020. |
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