Xem trong Thư phòng    Xem định dạng khác Xem định dạng khác    Xem Mục lục Xem Mục lục 

SÁCH AMAZON


Mua bản sách in

Mind is a noun that anyone can say, but no one knows clearly what mind is. The root of Buddhism is the mind. Those who study Buddhism must clearly know that the source is their own mind and cannot seek it elsewhere. In real life, Buddhism is a humanistic education, helping people realize the mind dharma to awaken, liberate and become Buddha right in this body.

But the mind is divided into two parts: the true mind is also called the mind that always knows clearly, the deluded mind is also called the mind that discriminates falsely. The true mind cannot be discussed with words or consciously thought about, it can only be seen, heard or known without delusion, the image of things is known clearly as such. The deluded mind is often thinking and distinguishing good and bad, right and wrong, self and others...

The deluded mind is "the understanding that distinguishes good and bad, right and wrong", also known as the spiritual part. The mind has no shape, long, short, square, round, or color, blue, red, yellow, white, black, or brown. We cannot see the mind with our eyes; we cannot touch or feel the mind with our hands or feet; we only see its effects through our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, so we know that there is a mind.

The true mind is revealed through seeing and hearing. When we see, we just see, but we are always clearly aware of all images of things, colors, blue, white, red, or yellow. When we hear, we just hear, without getting attached to loud or soft sounds, pleasant or unpleasant. Thanks to that, we always live with the nature of constant listening.

Just like "electricity", people cannot see, hear, or touch electricity; they only know that there is electricity by seeing its effects. For example, putting electricity in a light bulb will make the light turn on, putting electricity in a fan will make the fan turn, putting electricity in an iron will make it hot, putting electricity in a refrigerator will make the liquid solidify, etc. That is why people know that there is electricity. Our Buddha mind is also like that, because it has the function of seeing, hearing or knowing based on the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind without giving rise to thoughts of distinguishing good from bad, right from wrong, etc., so we know that there is a clear Buddha mind right in this body.

In our daily life, we have to eat, drink, urinate, defecate, dress, speak, receive guests, work, all of which require a manifest mind, so we are always clearly aware in seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

Zen is the truth of life, so we cannot use language or definitions to describe Zen. When we get to that point, each practitioner will know for himself whether it is hot or cold; but Zen cannot be separated from life, it cannot be found in a faraway place, but right in our own life. Zen in life is knowing how to harmoniously harmonize a clear mind and a knowledgeable, kind heart to give rise to wisdom and compassion. The path of Zen practice is to be aware at all times and in all places so that each practitioner can enter and realize the bright Buddha nature right in this body. Talking about Zen is talking about the connection with human life, not like many people often mistakenly think that Zen is only for those of high capacity, Zen is only applied in Zen monasteries or must go to deep mountains and valleys to be able to practice Zen, understanding like that unintentionally loses its practical value. Zen is the shortest path for humanity to apply in daily life, depending on each person's life circumstances, we cleverly arrange to meditate in walking, standing, lying, sitting, eating, sleeping and working.

The reason we have always found it strange is because there are too many impurities mixed in Zen, making people feel vague, mysterious, distant, difficult to grasp; also because there are many people who practice Zen outside the path and get lost in the devil or go crazy, from there people attribute Zen to Zen and feel afraid when talking about Zen. People often stray from reality to explore sublime and mysterious things, while life is spread out before our eyes, all of which is Zen. Seeing colors is Zen, hearing sounds is Zen. Seeing with the eyes and hearing with the ears are two senses we come into contact with every day. We only meditate right where we see and hear, not looking for something far away. People often think about the past, regret the golden age and daydream about the distant future. Older people often remember happy and sad memories of the past, young people often long for the future, thus losing themselves in the present. People who practice Zen live right here and now to clearly see the good and bad thoughts, right and wrong, right and wrong, winning and losing arising in their minds in order to transform them back to their original roots. Zen is the living substance that helps people understand all phenomena and things in this world and live peacefully and happily thanks to seeing and knowing the truth. Thanks to Zen, we clearly understand the true nature of our body, mind, and circumstances, so people live lovingly, caring for, and helping each other with a heart of understanding, selflessness, and altruism.

In Buddhism, there are many Zen methods to help humanity deeply experience family and social life. Buddha Shakyamuni, born in India over 2,600 years ago, also achieved enlightenment and liberation through Zen practice. Besides, he became a Buddha through practicing Bodhisattva path countless previous lives and also achieved it through Zen practice in the present life. If we enlighten and liberate ourselves without helping others to also become enlightened, it is the conduct of the Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas who have attained the Arhat fruition, so we cannot become Buddhas. "Buddha" is a general noun, fully translated as "Buddha", which is an enlightened person, an awakened person, meaning self-enlightenment, enlightenment of others, and complete enlightenment. Buddha is a human being of flesh and blood like everyone else, born from the mother's womb, not transformed from another place. We are also human like Buddha, Buddha practiced to become Buddha, we can also practice to become Buddha and whoever wants to become Buddha must know how to practice Zen.

Returning to the past when Bodhisattva Siddhartha left the golden palace, beautiful wife and obedient children to go out in search of the truth. First, he practiced Zen for the first 5 years with the two most prominent Zen masters of that time, but the destination had not yet reached the goal of enlightenment and complete liberation. He left and practiced Zen on his own, mortifying his body for 6 years, sometimes eating only one sesame seed or one corn kernel a day, but still could not find the ultimate truth. He practiced Zen with two famous masters but did not achieve perfect results, then he meditated on his own in the most ascetic way to mortify his body, leading to fainting, thanks to a cowherd girl who offered him a bowl of milk to help him gradually regain consciousness. From then on, he observed again and clearly saw that if Zen was forced to practice asceticism too much, it would lead to a weak body and a weak spirit, so he would not have enough strength to penetrate the truth. Zen with full benefits would not realize the true mind, so he returned to the Middle Way, eating just enough to nourish this body, thanks to which he could easily enter Zen, so his mind was calm and wisdom arose, and he achieved Buddhahood.

The golden teachings of the Buddha achieved through Zen practice have been a bright torch for people to build a peaceful, joyful and completely happy life for more than 26 centuries. Buddhism has existed brightly over time and exists until today mainly on the sublimation of spiritual wisdom and human morality. From then on, the Buddha incarnated as a human being, clearly knowing the reality of human suffering and finding a way out for people. He abandoned the path of thinking and the dead-end life of the non-Buddhist Zen ways, went to the Bodhi tree to meditate and enter samadhi. During 49 days and nights, he attained complete enlightenment, clearly saw where people come from, where they go after death, and clearly knew the way to escape the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death of human life. That state of enlightenment went through three stages: at the beginning of the night he attained the insight of Past Lives, in the middle of the night he attained the insight of the Divine Eye, and at the end of the night he attained the insight of the Extinction of Asavas. He sat under the Bodhi tree for 49 days and nights in meditation to discover the truth of life. When his concentration was deep, his mind was peaceful and quiet, so his wisdom was clear, thus he attained the Three Knowledges and became a Buddha.

When his mind was calm and clear, he immediately remembered countless past lives where he had been, what he had done, rich or poor, noble or humble... This is called attaining the insight of Past Lives, at that time the mind was completely pure, clear, quiet, and constantly illuminating. The insight of Past Lives that the Buddha attained was not some mysterious supernatural power, but because his mind was calm, he remembered countless past lives as if remembering yesterday. All of these thoughts fueled and motivated him to find a way to help people escape from suffering and misery and enjoy true, eternal happiness. He remembered countless previous lives clearly and thoroughly, without missing any detail; from there he knew where humans came from. We are not just randomly present once in life, but have been living and dying in the cycle of reincarnation for countless lives until now. When we attain enlightenment, we will see the truth, and we will know clearly who speaks right or wrong about the truth of life. Therefore, in the Agama Sutra, Buddha said, "the tears of living beings are more than the water of the ocean." We must understand further because Buddha said that the tears of living beings are not just in this life but in countless lives of life and death, so those tears are more than the water of the ocean.

The second state of realization is the Divine Eye. The Knowledge of Past Lives is the knowledge of past, present, and future time in countless lives. The Heavenly Eye is the knowledge of space, seeing things that are extremely mysterious and extremely far away; seeing thoroughly and clearly the cause and effect of karma of all living beings. Living beings are present in this world because of past karma, good or bad, which leads to their present birth. Although they are human, no one is the same because karma is different. In the Sutra, it is said that when he attained the Heavenly Eye, he saw countless germs in a bowl of water. 26 centuries ago, science was not yet advanced so there was no microscope, but the Buddha saw countless germs in a bowl of water. In the past, few people believed the Buddha's words because there was no proof. Once, a monk who attained Arhatship traveled a long way. When he crossed the desert, he was very thirsty and came across a shallow pond, so he decided to get some water to drink. When he used the Heavenly Eye, he saw countless germs in the water, so he did not dare to drink, so he endured his thirst and returned to the monastery. When he arrived, he reported to the Buddha, who said, "Why don't you use your normal eyes to see?" So, it is clear that more than 2,600 years ago, the Buddha saw germs, and the Arhats also saw germs, so the Vinaya teaches monks and nuns to bring water filters wherever they go because they are afraid that drinking water will kill germs. Nowadays, we do not bring water filters because the water has already been filtered. That is talking about very small objects; as for distant objects, the Buddha looked into the universe and saw countless worlds, that is, worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges River in India.

In the past, some people thought that the round sky and square earth had limits, but the Buddha saw that besides our planet, there were countless other planets. In the past, there were no telescopes, the Buddha used his Celestial Eye to see very far away, very small objects; therefore, he saw in detail the karma of all living beings rising and falling in the cycle of reincarnation, enjoying blessings, happiness, or suffering, all of which were created by himself. In a Buddhist sutra, it is said, “I see sentient beings reincarnated according to karma in the three realms and six paths, just like a person standing on a high floor looking down at a crossroads, clearly seeing people passing by.” Therefore, the Buddha advises us not to do evil deeds but to do good and kind deeds to enjoy blessings in good realms; but to commit evil deeds will be condemned to evil and suffering places. What the Buddha saw and spoke of in the sutras was due to his practice, realization, and true knowledge, not due to his far-fetched reasoning. The Jatakas or Original Stories that we read in the Pali or Chinese canon are sutras that talk about countless previous lives of the Buddha and his holy disciples. The Jatakas talk about the Buddha’s many previous lives. The Original Stories talk about the past lives of Brahmins or Bhikkhus, what they did, where they were, and how they are now receiving the retribution. Thus, the events of the monks that happened during the Buddha's time were clearly seen from previous lives, he spoke and later people recorded them and called them the Sutra of Original Events. His events of countless previous lives are called the Sutra of Original Birth. Good or bad places are born from karma, not by chance, nor by any deity or god who has the right to arrange and decide the fate of all living beings.

The third state of realization is Lau Tan Minh. "Lau" means to fall, to not fall anymore in the three realms and six paths, that is, to realize Lau Tan Minh. This is the key and main issue that he wanted to find to help people escape from birth-aging-sickness-death. Because he attained the Enlightenment of the Exhaustion of Asavas, he clearly knew the cause of going through the cycle of birth-death and how to end the cycle of life-death. He himself escaped and taught for 49 years; he was falsely accused, cursed, and harmed in every way, but Buddha remained calm, peaceful, and at ease, proving to the world his purity, being completely enlightened, liberated, and becoming a Buddha. Before entering nirvana, he informed the four groups of fellow practitioners of the date and time of his departure three months in advance. Therefore, Meditation is the path of profound self-experience, helping people overcome life's pitfalls to live peacefully, happily, freely and liberated.

Tam Vi is the Buddha's meditation process on the night of his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, marking an important transformation from the monk Gautama who devoted himself to finding the truth to becoming an enlightened one, Tathagata, Arhat, Samyaksambuddha, Perfect in knowledge and conduct, Well-gone, Knower of the world, Unsurpassed man, Tamer of men, Teacher of gods and humans, Buddha, World-Honored One.

Buddha is a human being, like everyone else, he is a prince who dares to give up power and authority, golden palace, beautiful wife and good children, dares to give up everything we always desire to find the truth of life for humanity.

Tathagata is a completely enlightened person, no longer bound and attached to worldly dharmas such as greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance and evil views, he is an Arhat, Samyaksambuddha Tathagata is one of the ten titles of the Buddha, which he often uses in the sutras. We temporarily call it not coming from anywhere and not going anywhere. Because it is a mysterious reality that cannot be described in words, Tathagata is the enlightened one, the one who is awake and sees and knows the truth.

Tathagata is the one worthy of being respected and offered offerings by gods and humans, the one who has destroyed all afflictions and suffering.

Tathagata is the one who has attained great enlightenment, sees and knows correctly and is no longer attached to worldly dharmas in life such as ignorance, greed, anger, jealousy, hatred, arrogance and other bonds. He is free, peaceful, and lives with sincere understanding and love, without distinguishing between relatives and enemies.

Tathagata is the one with complete enlightenment, which means that his full vision of perception and action reaches the ultimate level of clarity. The vision of countless past lives, of what he did and where he did, and the vision that all sentient beings are reincarnated in the three realms and six paths are all created by himself. And the knowledge of how to make people no longer be controlled by birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Tathagata is a good person who has skillfully overcome life and death, and has been completely and perfectly liberated.

Tathagata is a World-understander who has understood the thoughts, feelings, and nature of all living beings, as well as all phenomena and things in this world.

Tathagata is an unsurpassed person who has attained the highest quality of personality.

Tathagata is a taming man who has the ability to conquer, control, mobilize, and train people to overcome the pitfalls of life, including those who are difficult to tame.

Tathagata is a teacher of gods and humans, the gods here we often call devas, a species with more blessings than humans.

Tathagata is a Buddha, to fully say Buddha is an enlightened person, an awakened person, a person who sees and knows correctly. Truly.

Tathagata is the World-Honored One, the most noble person in the world, the reason he is so noble is because of his personality and quality of life, always compassionate and wise, understanding and loving, dedicated and serving, tolerant and forgiving, sharing and sympathetic, for the benefit of all living beings. If lay Buddhists regularly contemplate Buddha like this, our minds will become more and more calm and peaceful, thanks to which we are always clear-headed when studying and working, and we have the joy of living in awareness.

Particularly in Vietnam, the light of the Threefold Wisdom of the Buddha has been continued to be lit by Zen masters and Buddhist lay followers, creating golden pages of history for the house of Vietnamese Buddhism. Typically, during the Ly and Tran dynasties, kings, mandarins and Zen masters skillfully applied wisdom and lived truthfully through important contributions to preserving the country's independence, building and developing the nation. In particular, the Buddhist King Tran Nhan Tong attained enlightenment and liberation through Zen practice, opening the modern Zen sect of Truc Lam Yen Tu Vietnam to guide everyone to practice together. In India, there was a prince who became a monk and became a Buddha. In Vietnam, there was a king who gave up the throne, became a monk and attained enlightenment. That is a bright spot that illuminates the house of Vietnamese Buddhism. Buddha attained enlightenment through Zen practice, the Patriarchs also attained enlightenment through Zen practice, and especially the lay Buddhist Tue Trung Thuong Si also attained freedom through Zen practice. Before he was about to leave, his concubines and children in the house cried loudly, he opened his eyes and said "you have obscured my true nature", after saying that he peacefully and freely passed away.

» Tải file Word về máy » - In chương sách này

Tiếp tục nghe? 🎧

Bạn có muốn nghe tiếp từ phân đoạn đã dừng không?