The Meaning of Longevity Sutras .VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH. I. Meaning of the two words life maintenance Uphold (受持) in Sanskrit is udgrahana. Life is receiving, maintaining is preserving, remembering and not forgetting. Because of the power of faith, it is possible to receive; through the power of mindfulness, it is possible to keep it without forgetting. In the scriptures, it is often recorded that, after listening to the Buddha preach the Dharma, the disciples immediately "trusted and served." "Believe in service" or "believe in, accept and do" is to accept and uphold the teachings of the Buddha. In the Buddhist language, depending on the context, upholding has different specific meanings. Generally, longevity has three meanings: 1. Upholding the precepts: That is, the precepts and the precepts. This is just taking the precepts given by the gurus in the right way and keeping the precepts pure, without breaking them. 2. Life maintenance three y: That is, receive and keep the three robes of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis from the precepts after receiving the great precepts. Posts Full Moonlight Weeping Bodhisattva Finding the Origin of the Buddha Bathing Verse Introduction to the Buddhist scriptures Endless Treasure Ten Poems About Mother's Grace Pure Karma Ten Shangs Rosary Meaning and Purpose of Chanting Meaning and Method of Chanting Other Posts 3. Uphold the scriptures Upholding the sutras is a form of upholding the Dharma. This is a phrase that Buddhists often encounter in scriptures or listen to lectures. Usually, we think, "upholding the scriptures" is reading and chanting the scriptures. But the meaning of "upholding the sutras" is both broad and deep, reading and reciting the sutras is only a part of maintaining the sutras. For example, the Sutra of Conquering the Heavenly Kings Prajnaparamita says: "Then the Blessed One said to Ananda: You should uphold and uphold this Prajnaparamita Sutra. At that time, Ananda rose from his seat, lifted his robe, spread his right shoulder, knelt on his right, folded his hands toward the Buddha, bowed his head to the ground, and said to the Buddha: How is it, World Honored One? is longevity? The Buddha said to Ananda: There are ten dharmas in this sutra. What are ten? (1) record, (2) make offerings, (3) transmit, (4) listen, (5) read by yourself, (6) memorize, (7) speak to listeners, (8) recite by mouth, (9) thinking, (10) practice. These ten dharmas, Ananda, can be received and maintained as the great earth is the refuge and growth of all medicinal plants and flowers. In the same way, all good dharmas are born of Prajnaparamita. Ananda, if a Wheel-turning king were to stay in this world, the seven treasures would often appear. The same is true of the Perfection of Wisdom. Thus, according to the Prajnaparamita Sutra, "upholding the sutras" includes not only the part of self-cultivation (listening, reading, memorizing, chanting, thinking, and practicing), but also preserving and propagating it. promote the Dharma (recording, making offerings, passing it on, speaking to listeners, orally chanting). Here, according to the author, chanting includes self-awareness and enlightenment, part of the meaning of sutra maintenance. ​ II. Uphold the Dharma Dharma is truth or truth. We have deep faith in the Fa that we can receive or accept the Fa. For example, impermanence is a fact of life. When we hear about impermanence, do we accept impermanence as a fact? To what extent do we accept impermanence? Is that acceptance from the knowledge of consciousness? Or inner conviction (subconscious)? Or the acceptance of one's entire life? Many times, we hear that the Dharma is good and ethical, but when we encounter impermanence, we still suffer and do not accept it. For example, even though we know that birth, old age, sickness and death is inevitable, when faced with illness and suffering, we don't accept it, tormenting ourselves: "Why did I get so sick when I lived a good life? If you act evil, you should have to bear the retribution, right?" In the Buddha's sutras, such a person is the one who is hit by the first arrow (the body is suffering), and then pulls out and stabs himself again (the suffering mind) like a second arrow! Those who know how to practice well will accept the first arrow. But they don't get hit by the arrow a second, third, or more by pulling out and then stabbing themselves! Such a person, the body is already suffering, but the mind is even more miserable. That's someone who doesn't believe in the Fa even though he has listened to the Fa a lot! This is called: My heart is like a potato leaf. Listen to so much Dharma, go out as much! ​ Therefore, writers often say: "Those who know how to practice well will still grow old, get sick, and die. But the old age, sickness and death of those who do well are different from those who don't. Those who know how to practice grow old, but get old without birth defects. People who know how to practice are sick, but their bodies are sick but their minds are not sick. People who know how to practice will die, but they are not afraid of death!" Once, a Buddhist came to ask for a fake pen for advice when he found out he had cancer. The pseudo-pen asked him how peaceful his practice was. This person replied that he practiced reciting Buddha's name and prayed to be reborn in the Pure Land. The pseudo-pen advises him to regularly refer to the following sentence: "This body is taken care of by a doctor, this mind is taken care of by Amitabha Buddha, where else can I take care of?" Let go of worries and peace of mind to recite Buddha's name: Even if the end of the world tomorrow, the lotus is still planted Tonight, Bringing the cool wind and the moon, Praise Amitabha Buddha! This is the first peace of mind Dharma of the Pure Land! Every day, remembering Buddha and reciting Buddha's name, doing all blessings are dedicated to rebirth in the Pure Land, like any direction a tree leans, when it falls, it will surely fall in that direction. ​ III. Tho Fa still has to uphold the Fa Again, there are people who believe in the Dharma for a while, or only for a short time, and then lose their initial faith, forget the Dharma, and have no righteous thoughts. This is called having "longevity" but not having "maintenance"! So initially, thanks to the power of faith (one of the five powers: faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom), you should receive the Dharma. Then, by the power of mindfulness, one of the five powers, to practice the Dharma. On the contrary, the more you practice the Dharma, the deeper your belief in and reception of the Dharma (truth, truth) is, initially from conscious understanding, gradually transforming to awareness from the subconscious, and finally It's a whole life change. This is called "enlightenment". So uphold the Dharma through chanting, listening to the Dharma, thinking, etc.. the goal is "enlightenment" but not understanding. Only with enlightenment will all afflictions and sufferings end, and be truly peaceful and peaceful. ​ IV. Conclude In short, upholding the sutras is a common form of upholding the Dharma. Upholding the Dharma can also be like mindfulness, meditation, etc.. Life is believing in receiving, maintaining is remembering and practicing through keeping mindfulness, reading and reciting, meditating, etc., the purpose of life. Upholding the sutras or upholding the Dharma is to nurture the Dao mind, increase wisdom, purify defilements, and finally enlightenment and liberation. In the Dhammapada, the Buddha said: Although chanting and reading a lot of sutras Do not understand the meaning? Understanding a verse of Dharma practice in accordance with attaining the Way. Therefore, chanting must clearly understand the semantics and Dharma meanings, as well as contemplate and experience the true meaning of the Tathagata. This is called: Praying for the Tathagata's True Meaning! END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).WORLD VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST ORDER=BUDDHIST DHARMA WHEEL GOLDEN MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THE WOMEN OF THE SAKYA CLAN CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.11/12/2021.