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SÁCH AMAZON


Mua bản sách in

It can be affirmed that the problem of fake monks has robbed us of the opportunity - the means to bring the beautiful image of monks quietly lining up to receive alms in the mornings: entering life, into every corner of the village to create conditions for people to sow their affinity with the Triple Gem right in our homeland Vietnam.

I received alms in Thailand...

I used to love the robe and the image of a monk holding an alms bowl passing by my house when I was very young, it was like an image that awakened the good seed in my subconscious and then I had the heart to become a monk to become that image. There is truly no greater happiness than wearing a robe and carrying a bowl to beg for alms in the early mornings freely and without fear of being watched for truth or falsehood, right or wrong, as a necessary practice of humility and reminding myself that I am a mendicant - begging for food to cultivate, taking food to nourish the body, practicing Dharma to nourish the mind.

With the opportunity to study abroad in Thailand, in addition to the official school days, on weekends or Buddha's birthdays (4 days a month - like the full moon day in Vietnam), I have many opportunities to come into contact with and practice this beautiful tradition right in the capital Bangkok - the most modern city in Thailand.

When the sky just dawns, at exactly 5am, I wake up to do personal hygiene, take my robe, and hold my bowl - the bowl here is made of silver or aluminum and is covered on the outside by a rattan pot and has a strap across the right shoulder to avoid hand fatigue when carrying the bowl for long walks around the temple area where I live or further away.

Just stepping out of the gate, you can see people spreading out small mats, kneeling on the roadside, placing a tray of food in front of them to wait for the Sangha to pass by to make offerings. What is special is that they have to wake up very early, earlier than the monks to prepare food offerings, usually rice, sticky rice, fruit and a few cakes to show their respect as well as careful preparation for their food offerings. Sometimes these Buddhists have to stay up all night to wrap cakes and sit and watch the pot of rice cook.

When they see the monks passing by, one by one, people take turns putting food in bowls to offer and ask the monks to pray.

At that time, when everyone saw me coming, they smiled as if to signal that they wanted to make offerings, and so I gently stood still so that they could kneel down and clasp their hands solemnly according to the traditional Thai offering ritual. After putting food in the bowls for the monks and each believer will receive the morning prayers from the Sangha's prayers (for me, in the first days I was still confused so I could not chant in Pali, at that time I gently chanted the merit-devotion in Vietnamese to send them peaceful energy - NV), I saw them smile and be extremely happy as if to start a new day filled with faith.

After receiving enough food, I turned back to the old road to return to the temple to enjoy the food I had received and the remaining part I ate with the lunch food cooked at noon. Particularly, on big holidays, when the offerings are a bit too much, the lay people, also known as the alms-bearers, carry baskets to follow the monks while they are carrying the alms bowls to help the monks carry the offerings. After the monks have finished praying, they bring the leftover food back to the poor people in the neighborhood or send it to the orphanages - social welfare centers near the temple as a continuous, humane way of giving and receiving.

After finishing the morning alms-giving on the weekend in Thailand, I continued to teach English for free to poor children in the area. The class started at 7am on the weekend, every day the children gathered very early in the classroom in the dormitory where they were staying. When they saw me, they quickly stood up, clasped their hands in greeting and knelt down to perform the traditional ceremony (bowing). Accordingly, two students will represent the monks by using a basin of clean water and a towel to wipe the feet of the monk who is also their teacher to show respect.

The reason for this tradition is that in Thailand, monks play a very important role in all areas of the country's activities, creating a long-standing close relationship between monks and the people where they live. The temples will be cultural, academic and educational centers, in which monks are always considered teachers in terms of spirituality and knowledge in life - to guide, mentor and nurture the next generations, serving their country in the spirit of Buddhist ethics. In addition, monks are also considered as “judges” to advise, resolve and help with discordant relationships in the family and society when the intervention of the law is not really needed.

The simple wish of a mendicant

Perhaps, a hundred thousand words are sometimes not equal to a truly mature, peaceful and simple image of a gentle, fresh, truly practicing and learning monk, wearing robes and carrying a bowl, walking on the bustling streets of the marketplace to transmit, continue and awaken the destiny of the Dharma to those who have planted it since time immemorial?

In fact, simplicity and humility in words and actions are the inherent nature of a Buddhist monk, always seeing himself as small, seeking to learn and knowing when to stop - these are the essential elements needed in young monks like me, seeing that the practice of begging for alms is a way to teach, learn and remind oneself to be effective. The most effective way is to use personal example to support and nurture oneself from the wordless lessons that one must review and practice every day from the predecessors. At that time, they also brought the religion into life with their own feet, with a piece of robe, with the Buddha's bowl to wander on this beloved land of Vietnam.

I dream that one day my brothers and I can continue to practice alms begging right in our own homeland, not in another place or in a certain country as mentioned above. Knowing that there are still many shortcomings and difficulties, do not let the fake monks take advantage of you and then "compromise", losing the sacred image, the valuable religious and life lessons that have more or less awakened many hearts when they have the good fortune to meet, see and respect, continue - become the "stone pillars of the forest" in the future.

And do not let alms-begging be considered a delicate thing anymore, when it is a very important and necessary spiritual food for young monks, carrying the lesson of humility, simplicity and learning to recognize oneself in a society with more and more temptations...

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