A guest brought me a gift package. Inside were two books: The Land of Ultimate Bliss, Light and Darkness. Author: Lien Hoa Bao Tinh. During the later period, I had very few opportunities to read new books, so I was not too surprised by the strange author. However, in that situation, reading strange books, especially those sent from a foreign land, was very interesting. The more I read, the more interesting it became. Partly because of the author's unexpected insights, about the doctrinal points that I was very familiar with. Familiar since I was a novice monk. But partly, more interesting, was knowing that Lien Hoa Bao Tinh was also Duc Hanh - that was uncle Hanh, who once lived in Gia Lam with uncle Sy.

At that time, around 1962-1963, Gia Lam only had a row of thatched houses for the monks, with three brick rooms; the middle room was for worshiping Buddha; one room was reserved for the abbot. In the remaining room, the Abbot from Nha Trang occasionally came to monitor how the monks were studying, and more often, the Abbot Thien Minh. Già Lam, or Tăng-già-lam of the Buddhist Academy, was in the form of a dormitory for overseas students. The Central Buddhist Academy used this place as a place for monks who had passed the Baccalaureate II from affiliated schools to study. Some studied at the faculties of Saigon University. A few others were sent by the academy to study English classes of the Vietnam-US Association. Uncle Hanh was among these monks. As for me, I was a small-time vagabond, wandering through many pagodas in the South without meeting the requirements to join the community. Then, due to the abbot's introduction, the Abbot took pity on me and let me stay at Già Lam. Even though we were not close, we eventually became close. That is the brotherhood in the Zen monastery.

It has been more than thirty years since I traveled to Van Hanh. Image of a wandering monk in the highlands, teaching English at Bodhi High Schools.

Thirty years, things have changed. The country is at peace, but people are scattered. Dispersed in one place, to gather in another. Each person goes in different directions, but deep in their hearts, they still harbor the initial desire to learn the Dharma, even though their aspirations have not yet been fulfilled. As for me, in all those years, I have gone through almost all six paths of reincarnation in one human life. When I was brought back to the old scene, my old brothers were no longer there. The streets and towns were bustling. The temples were also bustling, trendy and fashionable. The two types of hair, I suddenly felt confused. Therefore, when I suddenly read the pages of the book, at first I felt strange, then I realized it was familiar, as if I heard the echoes of a time of practice. The person returned, time had changed. But the person went far away, the old tree's root still cast its shadow across half the sky. The Bodhi seed had been burned by fire and swept away by water countless times; The body changes, the seed of life does not perish. I read those pages, discovering the principles of life and religion from a wandering life of a former classmate and fellow practitioner.

I was born a bookworm. I went through almost all six paths of reincarnation in a human life, and when I returned, I was still a bookworm. Virtue and Happiness are perhaps mustard seeds rolling on the dusty road of life. Each mile adds a layer of dust, as if the kernel inside is withering. This world may suddenly appear and disappear; the human world may be drawn into lust and madness; but from within its mysterious nature, the milk from the Tathagata's womb still sweetly nourishes the seed of Bodhi to grow strong in time. Then the mustard seed sprouts, is that so? I don't know that clearly, but I know something else quite clearly: the sea of suffering is vast, and the shore is visible when we turn back.

Each of us, from our own separate corners of the world, from the bumpy paths of life outside the Buddhist academy, suddenly felt like we were looking back at the old days, looking back at our original wishes, seeing again the youthful aspirations still faintly visible under the temple's shadow. The pages of my uncle's books made me feel a source of peace and innocence from my childhood. Then my uncle sent me a postcard in a series of letters that he was writing for a book that was scheduled to be published. I read not like a reader looking for new ideas or perspectives, looking for things that he had not thought of in the vast treasure of the Holy Scriptures. I read these articles with the mood of someone wishing to discover unknown things about a friend, seemingly forgotten. There, were still familiar doctrinal points that we had once studied together, and sometimes even debated. For me, that doctrinal foundation, over time, has been covered with many layers of knowledge from the East and the West, ancient and modern, seemingly forever hidden under a layer of extensive knowledge. Then suddenly, from the pages of a book by chance, the past once revived, with all its emotions and knowledge. At that time, I also realized that those same doctrinal points that Duc Hanh thought were buried and forgotten under layers of worldly dust; but no, those doctrinal points were so simple, thin and light, just enough for novice monks who were inexperienced in both religious principles and worldly meanings to keep in their minds, as provisions for the upcoming journey; those doctrinal points now suddenly resurfaced, and I realized that they were seeds that, although very easily decayed with time, because of their indestructible diamond nature, were still hidden somewhere in the depths of the mind, and when the time came, they would reappear.

Unfortunately, we were all born in a time of many demonic obstacles, as tall and massive as the shadow of Iron Mountain, covering the sun of Wisdom. Sometimes the light of Bodhi from the original aspiration suddenly appears, like a single star in the dark night. However, each person still tries to move forward, in his own way, with the means and opportunities that he has. Therefore, I feel joyful and want to add a few words to the beginning of this work by Duc Hanh. Sometimes I feel that what I have written is too far from reality, gathered from many pages of Sutras and Treatises and then put together; therefore, when I read the explanations of Buddhism from the very subtle problems of daily life, I feel excited to be able to contemplate what is inherently contemplated by metaphysical logical thinking. Not only is it an experience, but within the limits of life, it is also an experience of truth in daily life. In other words, it is an experience of the essence of Buddhism: afflictions are Bodhi.

Because afflictions are Bodhi, lay people living in the midst of a polluted world, bound by many strings of karma, still see themselves as not being isolated from the Holy Path. Lay Buddhists talk more than they do, which is a limit that very few can overcome. But the Vijñāptimātratā school also talks about the practice of famous sayings. Speaking of goodness, although one cannot completely live up to what one says, the nature of language is practice, like a kind of self-suggestion, the seed of the Holy Path is infused unconsciously or unconsciously, over a long period of time, sometimes over several eons, the seed of the Holy Path is accumulated through the practice of famous sayings and will soon sprout. Moreover, Buddhists study Buddhism based on the meaning of relying on the Dharma, not on people. The Dharma is not just for listening, but needs to be contemplated, practiced, to discover the truth for oneself. Therefore, as the Buddha taught, do not rush to believe something just because it is said by tradition, comes from a place that is said to have authority, is taught by your Master. I want to talk about the mission of propagating the Dharma. Monks have abandoned all worldly ties, so practicing and teaching the Dharma is favorable, and the teachings are based on real experiences. That is very useful for the listeners. However, in an increasingly complex society with all kinds of human relationships, the experience of monks about the truth of the world is increasingly narrow. Therefore, although the teachings are from personal experience, they are often far from social reality, causing lay people to hear them and find them interesting, but when they practice, they encounter many disasters. Mice are not afraid of lions, but are certainly afraid of cats. That is what the sutra calls the antidote to all-powerful beings. The truth of the Dharma is evaluated by the actual practice of countering them. Of course, the fundamental afflictions that need to be countered are greed, anger, and ignorance. In many cases, profound teachings become a game of fanciful reasoning. One cannot give the Tai-yi sword to a child to crack chestnuts. Any ordinary pebble can have a much more satisfying effect.

Those are some of my thoughts when reading Duc Hanh's Buddhist articles. I think that articles about these fundamental doctrinal points viewed from everyday aspects will also inspire readers; from that inspiration, they can contemplate their own human problems with Buddhism. Each person has their own personal experiences, and then understand more and more deeply the meaning of Buddhism that is inseparable from worldly Dharma.