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Comparing the two periods, when society closed its doors to restrict temples, many monks who had practiced for many years had to carry Buddha statues and bells back home to practice secretly. Then some monks returned to secular life. Today's society is more knowledgeable, like a horse with its eyes uncovered, free to look around. Life is also more prosperous. How happy it is that temples, monasteries, and hermitages spring up like mushrooms, every temple is spacious (even in many places like An Giang, for example, there are many abandoned temples but no monks, so they go to build new temples). Regarding scriptures, sermon tapes are secretly kept and hidden, and are still passed around cautiously by a few. On the contrary, today scriptures are printed everywhere, with censorship but as if there was no censorship, and it is very easy to buy. Entering a bookstore is like getting lost in a forest, with hundreds of flowers blooming. Next to ancient books, there are translated books by several famous monks. The authors are Mr. H, Mr. K, Mr. O. People have heard of them for a long time. Until recently, monks and lay people have emerged. The special thing is that the truth is only one, like a finger pointing at the moon, but everyone says their finger is the truth...

THE MEDICINE THAT IS ALWAYS BELIEFS

It is when the horizon becomes the darkest and when human reason is shattered that faith shines brightly and saves us. - Mahatma Gandhi.

I. About a disease of the times:

- Comparing the two periods, when society closed its doors and restricted temples, many monks who had practiced for many years had to carry Buddha statues and bells back home to practice secretly. Then some monks returned to secular life. Today's society is more knowledgeable, like a horse with the cloth covering both eyes removed, freely looking around. Life is also more prosperous. How happy that pagodas, monasteries, and hermitages are springing up like mushrooms, every pagoda is spacious (even in many places like An Giang, for example, there are many abandoned pagodas but no monks, so they go to build new ones). Regarding scriptures, sermon tapes are secretly kept and hidden, and are still passed around cautiously by a few people. On the contrary, nowadays scriptures are printed everywhere, censored but not censored, and it is very easy to buy. Stepping into a bookstore is like getting lost in a forest, with hundreds of flowers blooming. Next to ancient books, there are translated books by several famous monks. Authors like Mr. H, Mr. K, Mr. O. People have heard of them for a long time. Even the teachers and lay people who have recently emerged. The special thing is that there is only one truth, like a finger pointing at the moon, but everyone says their finger is the truth. Zen suddenly opens up to more than a hundred types, everything is called Zen, but its nature is very difficult to define. People say that to reach Zen, one must cut off all thoughts. Other people are very simple, just always smile to those around them. Or even a friendly gesture with someone is also called meditation. The Buddha understood the rise and fall of impermanence, so why was the Buddha still silent before (let's stand in front of the Buddha statue and observe, it seems like the Compassionate Father is smiling). Particularly with the times we see, here is something to exchange. Are humans not simple with greed, anger, ignorance, defense, doubt, or creation (view), attachment (attachment) are seven obstacles that lead to character and then become what is called - destiny - of human beings. Among the seven obstacles, greed, anger, ignorance are often mentioned because they are big, easy to see, easy to remove. Defense, doubt, view, attachment, are considered small and not paid attention to, so difficult to remove. Like repairing a boat, only worrying about patching the big holes, often missing the places where barnacles make small holes in the planks. Therefore, the boat goes out to sea carrying such small things but then does not reach the shore, encounters big waves and winds and the boat drifts and cannot withstand them.

Few people suspect and see that arguing, doubting, holding back, and defending those trivial things lead people to complacency, conceit, arrogance, and distrust. As for side B, instead of being generous and tolerant, everyone has mistakes and errors, but because of arguing, doubting, holding back, they are not convinced, and instead of resolving them, they become long-lasting injustice. With so many people, society is always in turmoil, discrimination, factions... and there is hardly any peace. It is very difficult to list all the evils that arise from arguing, doubting, holding back, and defending. This is also a serious disease of the world, wars happen because of greed and the cause is where, we certainly know (for example, the war of Islam). Returning to the problem of Buddhism. A time gives people a cold appearance, but in the ashes there is a fire. There is goodness, there is faith in the three jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. On the contrary, people today are good, but what about the belief in the three jewels? Temples are springing up to welcome everyone, but do we know whether they practice or not... or is that just an external form? It seems like they are telling the Buddha - Dear World-Honored One, your mission is done, please sit still. It is true that in the past, the World-Honored One taught that life is impermanent and should not be shown off, but if there was no showing off, no one would come to the Zen monastery. It seems that chasing after quantity does not pay attention to quality. Among the large number of people who go to the temple, there are people who believe that the temple is rich or poor because there is also Buddha, but do not believe in the teacher. And there are also quite a few people whose personal history says they follow Buddhism, but they never go to the temple because of confusion, not only doubting the teacher but also doubting that Buddha appears everywhere, but Buddha is not always present everywhere. So, we can boldly say this truth. Outside, there are many things, is it because of arguments, doubts, views, and stubbornness that secretly push people apart inside, which becomes even more serious when the market for scriptures and audiotapes is free. Instead of seeking morality, people need a teacher to guide them from the bottom up. Without a teacher, you will never succeed. People do not need to buy scriptures to learn, practice on their own, and do not need to consult or ask anyone. Buddhism has the advantage of freedom and democracy over other religions. Whatever the teacher teaches, the listener can understand according to their aptitude, but this is also an Achilles' heel. Without a teacher to guide them, they buy scriptures to read and absorb many viewpoints that say the opposite and the same, so many people go astray. They talk nonsense about the Dharma without knowing what they are saying, they talk but do not practice. Otherwise, they become arrogant, instead of looking into their true hearts, they look down on their surroundings and criticize others.

Those who are interested in the future of Buddhism must also see that compared to the past, people today have a higher level of education, but their ego is heavier. We must find the answer to this question ourselves, Buddha also reminded us in the past.

II. From the Buddha's teachings:

With his eyes that see through all realms, the Buddha saw everything clearly. The Buddha is a master of psychology, so for the above illness, he has given many remedies. First, the Buddha taught four ways of relying on called the Four Bases of Reliance. These include - relying on the Dharma, not relying on people - relying on the meaning, not relying on words - relying on the definitive sutras, not relying on the definitive sutras - relying on wisdom, not relying on consciousness. The Dharma has been passed down for many generations, passed down through many teachers, so it certainly cannot avoid mistakes and shortcomings. Thanks to the four bases of dependence, people know where to direct their eyes. It is an important measure of the quality of a practitioner, but it seems that few people pay attention to this measure. The monks seem to be so busy with abstract things that they forget to thoroughly analyze the four bases of dependence, which are very practical for life. The sutra also records a story. One day, the Buddha traveled to the city of Kesaputa. Many people heard the news and came to visit the Buddha and said, “World-Honored One, many Brahmins and hermits have also come here. They preach nonsense and then criticize others. We are skeptical and confused, not knowing who is speaking the truth and who is speaking the wrong truth.” Something like that. At that time, the Buddha kindly gave advice. “That’s right, my children, it is very doubtful. You should not be attracted by words, or listen to stories, rumors. Or be led by the authority of scriptures. Or what seems trustworthy, someone says that I am your teacher. But you yourself must know what is wrong and bad to stay away from. Whatever anyone says, if it is good and kind, then listen and accept it.” Thus, we see that the Buddha is very fair. The Buddha does not claim to be good and then criticize or condemn others. The Buddha has dispelled our confusion and doubt. Although it is not a sin, it leads people to ignorance and ego. If you do not abandon it, you cannot go far. Going far without colliding with others. It is truly unique in the history of world religions and beliefs.

There is no religious leader like the Buddha when he taught that "it is necessary to examine even the Tathagata to be completely sure of the value of a teacher that one is following. The Buddha's advice can be considered the message of religion. Complete freedom to find the path of liberation while also being democratic and not rejecting other people's views. Buddhism has absolutely no such thing as favoring the new and abandoning the old, no such thing as meeting a new master and feeling too happy and then turning away and criticizing the old master in the mountains for being rustic".

III. Coming to the medicine Thuong Bat Khinh

The Buddha's advice is not something that the disciples below can fully understand, ending prejudice and doubt. If you consider carefully, there is no great sin, it is simply due to ego clinging to prejudice. The mind, body, and consciousness are not pure because of that. The Buddha is very subtle in looking at external manifestations to recognize us from deep within. To illustrate, connecting reality with what Buddha taught, he told the story of Thường bất khung. The image of Bodhisattva Thường bất khung creates strong emotions in people and sounds close to life in any era. Thường bất khung means not daring to look down on. According to the story, after the Tathagata entered Nirvana for the first time, it was still in the Dharma image period. But it was really shocking that at that time there were still many arrogant Bhikkhus, whose power was very great. They did not practice but thought they practiced, did not realize but thought they realized, did not keep the precepts and morality, attracted gullible followers, and caused internal division. But there was a Bhikkhu who, when meeting those people, still clasped his hands and praised, "I do not dare to look down on you, all of you will become Buddhas. You will also become Buddhas." Hearing those words of praise, due to impure minds and doing bad things, many people became indifferent, not knowing if these were true words, so they got angry, "Who are you, how do you know I will become Buddha. I do not need false words." Over the years, the Bodhisattva was not only scolded by the world, but also beaten with sticks and thrown with stones, but he remained steadfast. He met everyone wearing the monk's robe and praised, "Everyone will become a Buddha." Because he kept saying this, the arrogant people gave the Bodhisattva the nickname "Never-Despising": He was a special Bodhisattva in the Lotus Sutra Assembly and made the Dharma assembly shine with the profound and wonderful Lotus Sutra. Anyone who has read this sutra will surely understand that Bodhisattva Never-Despising has several virtues - faith - patience, and truthfulness without contempt, thus the Bodhisattva emerged through four aspects: Faith, Wisdom, Conduct, and Fruition. Faith is the belief in the Dharma and in people. True wisdom to understand that oneself and all living beings have Buddha faith. Faith and wisdom lead to the vow that wherever, whenever, whoever you meet, you will always say good things, praise, "I always respect you and dare not look down on you. Why? Because all of you will become Buddhas." In the right fruition, Buddha Sakyamuni was the Bodhisattva Never Disparaging of the past and he also met many other Buddhas. From the scriptures, we think of reality.

What do we learn from the image of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging in today's era? Is our era suffering from the serious illness mentioned in the introduction? An era full of turmoil chasing after material things, the poor and the rich are far apart, knowledge is arrogant, selfish and greedy. Science and technology have come to every home with full amenities, so people seem to live in an oasis, each house knows its own house and no one goes there. These are the days when people are full of prejudice and suspicion of each other. We ourselves also have the ambition to awaken others from ignorance by criticizing. Maybe people will be startled when hearing the harsh words "Why live greedily, selfishly, don't think about death, nothing exists in this life." But this method is only effective for some people, like a prison opened to deter, in the end every prison is full of criminals. Through Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, his image seems paradoxical, but we still learn from him. Instead of ambition, we learn from him the steadfastness of faith, honesty, patience, and non-disparagement. We follow the natural flow, the normal psychological functioning of humans. Kind praise is always more appropriate than criticism (Especially for those who are rarely praised). In medicine, people know many cases of people with cancer who, after a period of time, returned to the doctor for a check-up and were surprised to see that the tumor had naturally disappeared. When asked, we found out that instead of being sad, the sick person was instead cheerful and selfless, going out to help those in similar situations. The education sector has also begun to realize that in developing children, praise is more effective than punishment. Praise makes people feel happy and open their hearts. No matter how tightly closed a person's heart is, sincere closeness and encouragement will eventually open up to receive Buddha nature.

Every year, spring comes, but because life is full of hardships, sadness, prejudices, and our behavior, spring is forced and not joyful. But if we take refuge in the Dharma of the Bodhisattva Never Disparaging, our prejudiced mind will be removed, as light as a blooming lotus, and people will live together in harmony without contempt for the world. Is this the medicine that cures our mental illness so that instead of welcoming spring once a year, now all four seasons are a spring of unfading joy.

The Final Song for Thường bất thính.

The water invites the moon to appear?
The moon sends its reflection?
The water and the moon "perform" together!
For whose love is adrift!

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