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Learning, Understanding and Practicing the Jewels

In France, the pandemic really started around March 2020, with lockdown orders, restricting people's normal activities such as shopping, traveling, gathering, even companies, offices, and workplaces had to limit the number of employees, workers... But ironically, in hospitals, there were too many patients, and doctors, nurses, assistants, and even the infrastructure, the cleaners in charge of hygiene and cleaning were not enough to handle all the work. The beginning of the pandemic really brought a lot of anxiety to everyone. But then, on both the government and the people, everyone had to try and sacrifice to cope with the great disaster. And gradually the initial difficulties were also overcome.

As Buddhists, we clearly see the lessons of Impermanence and Suffering happening before our eyes and Learning Buddhism is the way out as the Buddha taught "Bhikkhus, in the past and present, I only speak of suffering and the cessation of suffering" (Middle Length Discourses I, 140) https://www.budsas.org/uni/u-vbud/vbpha406.htm

A few months later, through the internet, our One Day Peaceful monastery arranged courses to study the teachings as well as chant and listen to lectures. And the Treasure Sutra was recited and explained under the guidance of the Venerable Abbot of Truc Lam Pagoda. So what have we learned, how should we understand and practice according to the teachings in the Sutra?

This article will present again to review what has been learned and needs to be remembered and practiced.

It should be noted that we will rely on the Commentary translated from Pali by Bhikkhu Thien Minh for further reference.

The origin of the Commentaries can be read in the following document:

https://theravada.vn/chuong-iii-nguon-goc-phat-trien-nhung-ban-chu-giai-kinh-phat/

And we can be completely assured when reading the conclusion in this commentary: In short: we have seen sufficient evidence to affirm a traditional truth The tradition is that it was not only Buddhaghosa, Mahinda, or some other patriarchs who initiated the writing of commentaries on the Buddhist scriptures. We can say that the Buddha himself and his direct disciples as well as later disciples all paved the way for the great Buddhaghosa, and at the same time we cannot agree with those who completely deny any authorship of Buddhaghosa. The Niddesa is a very ancient commentary on some of the Suttas in the work.

Let us begin to learn and understand the Jewel Sutta in the following order:

1. The reason why the Buddha spoke the Jewel Sutta:

The Jewel Sutta (Ratana Sutta) in the Khuddaka Nikaya (Volume 6) is one of many Paritta or prayer suttas recited in Theravada Buddhist countries.

According to the Commentary on the Small Verses, translated from Pali by Bhikkhu Thien Minh, by Buddhaghosa: (http://phatgiaonguyenthuy.com/media/cats/tam-tang/chu-giai/chu-giai-tieu-tung-ty-khuu-thien-minh-dich/chu-giai-tieu-tung-ty-khuu-thien-minh-dich.pdf) we can extract many passages about dependent origination in which the Jewel Sutta was recited. It was indeed a sutta spoken by the Buddha and given to his disciple Ananda to memorize and recite while circumambulating the city of Vaishali, which before the epidemic was a wealthy, prosperous, highly developed and populous city. Let's read the following excerpts:

But on another occasion the city was short of food due to a drought and crop failure. First the poor people had to die and [their bodies] were thrown out of the city, because of the stench of the corpses no one dared to enter the city, non-human beings had the opportunity to break into the city. After that, many other people also had to die. The disgust was so great that the “Snake Breath” epidemic appeared. [4] It devastated countless lives. The city of Vesālī was haunted by three disasters: fear of hunger, fear of non-human beings and fear of raging epidemics.

Let me repeat, the city of Vesāli, the capital of the Vajji country. The Licchavi clan that ruled this country sent a delegation to Rajagaha in Magadha, the capital of King Bimbisara, to see the Buddha, who was then residing at the Veluvana monastery, and invited him to Vaisali to dispel these calamities, an excerpt from the Commentary:

“Venerable Sir, there are three calamities arising in our city. If the Blessed One would come to our city, we would be safe.” The Blessed One then concentrated on contemplating [on that matter and realized that] “When the Jewel Sutra is proclaimed in the city of Vesālī, that Safety will spread throughout the entire Ten Thousand Great Thousand Worlds and when the proclamation of that Sutra ends, eighty-four thousand beings will attain the Dharma”, so the Blessed One agreed to go to the city of Vesālī.

The Blessed One entered the city of Vesālī. Immediately after the Blessed One entered the city of Vesālī, the King of the Gods (Sakka), the Gods who had been foretold by the assembly of gods, arrived. With the appearance of the gods with such great power, most of the non-human beings fled. The Blessed One then stopped right at the city gate, and he told the Elder Ananda to say: “O Ananda, listen to this Jewel Sutta, and together with the Licchavi princes perform a Prayer for Peace in a procession around the distances of three times around the city wall, bringing with you material goods to perform the offering ceremony. And then he announced the Jewel Sutta.

According to the above commentary, we see that the Buddha not only ordered the recitation of the Jewel Sutta but also called for the practice of a Prayer for Peace with full offerings. We can learn about the ceremony through the story the Buddha told about King MAHÀVIJITA to indirectly advise the Brahmin KÙTADANTA.
You can refer to the Kutadanta Sutta https://theravada.vn/giao-an-truong-bo-kinh-kinh-cuu-la-dan-dau-kutadanta-sutta/

Or https://www.budsas.org/uni/u-kinh-truongbo/truong05.htm

We see that although there is a sacrificial ceremony, there is no killing or harming of living beings. A ceremony comes from compassion and everyone is happy. The giver and the receiver both enjoy blessings. It is thanks to the Dharma spoken in the ceremony that it truly brings peace and turns misfortune into fortune. The true meaning of "Avoiding Disaster and Good Fortune" is like that, not relying on external power or supernatural powers, but on Listening to the Dharma, Understanding the Dharma and Practicing it. Dharma. External support is only a supporting condition. Self-power is still the foundation as the Buddha taught, He is only the one who shows the way, the rest of the Dharma practice depends on each person's own effort. With diligent practice, merit will arise, however, do not deny or reject Other Power, thinking that it is completely non-existent, useless. But if you rely on Other Power, it is also not right.

The Buddha is truly tolerant and not extreme, he does not advocate sacrifices with the killing of living beings but also does not stubbornly reject sacrifices. Evidence through the passage quoted in the book "Social Thought in the Primitive Buddhist Canon" by Venerable Thich Nguyen Sieu, in the Bat Ky Chapter, in the Anguttara Nikaya, chapter Seven Dharmas, the Buddha taught that there are 7 conditions for a nation to prosper, the sixth of which is:

6. Have faith and respect for religious traditions

“Ananda, have you heard that the Vajji people respect, revere, and worship Do you worship and make offerings to the Vajji temples in the city and outside the city, without abandoning the offerings that have already been made in accordance with the Dharma?

“Venerable sir, I have heard that the Vajji people revere, respect, pay homage to, and make offerings to the Vajji shrines in the city and outside the city, and do not abandon the offerings that were made before, in accordance with the Dharma.”

“Ananda, when the Vajji people revere, respect, pay homage to, and make offerings to the Vajji shrines in the city and outside the city, and do not abandon the offerings that were made before, in accordance with the Dharma, then, Ananda, the Vajji people will grow and not decline.”

Thus, practicing the ritual of offering sacrifices and praying for peace is not a vice, something that should be completely rejected as superstitious or heretical. The important thing for Buddhists is not to be too formal, too grand, too costly, and especially not to harm the lives of others, people or animals.

According to the Commentary, the statement of the Buddha The Buddha said that after the Jewel Sutra was recited, “That Safety would spread throughout the entire Ten Thousand Great Thousand Worlds and when the Sutra was finished, eighty-four thousand living beings would attain the Dharma.”

Anyone who has recited the Universal Gate Chapter knows the last sentence with similar words: “When the Buddha spoke this Universal Gate Chapter, in the assembly, eighty-four thousand living beings all gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, and perfect enlightenment.”

We can also find the above ending sentence in some other Northern sutras.

Thus, we see that there is a similarity in ideas between the Southern and Northern sutra systems. This is only one of many similarities.

2. The object of the Buddha's recitation of the Jewel Sutra:

Before talking about the object, we need to go back to what was said about the reason the Buddha was invited to Vaishali because of the great disasters happening in this city. The great disasters that were told are easy for us to understand. such as hunger and disease, but the disaster called Phi Nhan is confusing for us. So let's find out who Phi Nhan is and how it harms people?

According to the Buddhist Dictionary, Phi Nhan, Sanskrit: Amanuwya. Pali: Amanussa. Not human. Refers to the following species: Heaven, dragon, Yaksha, Evil spirit, Asura, hell... Bhikkhu Luc Vat Do Tu Sao, volume 2, records: In the Vinaya, it is said that there are 3 realms: Human realm, Non-human realm and Animal realm. In which, Non-human realm refers to 4 realms: Heaven, Asura, hell and hungry ghost. Monks who have left home to live in seclusion also humbly call themselves Phi Nhan. In addition, the word Phi Nhan is also used to criticize the poor and beggars. [See the Seed Virtue Sutra in the Long A Ham Q.15; the Universal Gate chapter of the Lotus Sutra; the Mahavibhasa treatise Q.126; the Abhidharmakośa treatise Q.12].

In addition, Phi Nhan There are also good and bad classes. The good class is the Devas and Guardian Deities, and the bad class is also Devas and Deities, but they are destructive and prevent people from practicing.

Studying the Compassion Sutra, we also know that the Buddha spoke this sutra because some Devas tried to destroy, frighten, and prevent the monks from staying in their meditation and practice places. The Buddha taught the monks to recite the Compassion Sutra, spread loving-kindness, and transform the evil thoughts of the Devas who were trying to destroy and prevent their practice. And this transformation was successful. From then on, the Compassion Sutra is also considered a prayer for peace.

Let's read an excerpt from the late Venerable Thich Thien Chau's document:

The monks often meditated under large trees. At first, the Devas who lived in the trees were very happy and to show respect to the monks, they temporarily moved down to the ground. But after a while, life on the ground was very uncomfortable. They became frustrated. Knowing that they could not endure this for three months, the devas tried every way to drive the monks out of the forest. They transformed themselves into terrifying images, terrifying sounds, and foul smells to discourage them. Faced with these terrifying scenes, the monks' minds began to waver, become afraid, and they lost their appetite and sleep. Their bodies became sick, weak, and emaciated. Their minds were no longer at peace to meditate. Therefore, the monks returned together to Savatthi to ask the Buddha to allow them to spend the rainy season in another place.

(https://thuvienhoasen.org/a10454/kinh-tu-bi-metta-sutta)

It is worth noting that the lives of the Devas, good or evil, and the Non-humans in general, are almost closely related to the lives of humans. They can see people living well, they respect, support, and help them. The Dharma Protector Devas are very important for practitioners, and vice versa, if they are not satisfied or agree with humans, they can destroy them. In addition, if they need help from people, they can also find ways to approach and make people understand what they want, for example, by appearing in dreams or appearing in form, speaking, or speaking to people directly or through a third party. A small number, but it cannot be said that few and none, have experienced premonitions in dreams, messages or requests from deceased relatives.

Again, the deceased are also included in the category of Non-humans.

The Jewel Sutra is considered a Prayer for Peace or Protection Sutra and similar to the case of the Bhikkhus being harassed by the Devas, quoted from the document on the Compassion Sutra, these Devas can also be understood as Non-humans according to the above definition, and thus the Non-humans causing trouble in Vaishali can also be understood as referring to the Devas with evil intentions, not only evil spirits or demons, yakshas and even hungry ghosts, who are too hungry can also seek out humans to harass them in order to receive alms of food and drink. And their vandalism can also be understood as the appearance of terrifying images, horrible sounds, or stench...

Now that we understand who Non-humans are and how they cause trouble, let us now try to find out why they cause trouble?

The cause of a disaster is sometimes quite complicated, and our ordinary eyes cannot clearly see it. In general, we often attribute it to the karma we created in the past, which we must bear in this life, or to the karma we are creating in this life, which we must bear in this life, such as destroying the environment, dumping filth, which pollutes nature and affects plants and crops, or simply lack of hygiene, causing rats, flies, mosquitoes, and bacteria to multiply and cause epidemics, or the burial of corpses is not done carefully and according to rules, or the killing of animals for meat and blood to nourish human life are also acts of great environmental pollution, not to mention experiments and scientific research, which sometimes benefit one place but harm another...

Everyone realizes that humans are the masters of all disasters in the world, we cannot blame heaven and earth, but humans are not the only living beings in this world, our mortal eyes do not allow us to see far. The Buddha taught that the human world is only one of the Six Realms, six paths, including heaven, gods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell. And it is also one of the Three Realms or three realms: Desire Realm, Form Realm, Formless Realm. The Six Realms can communicate with each other, meaning they can see each other, support each other, and also harm each other, except for beings in hell who only suffer and have no freedom. The Three Realms are the same, but only realms at higher levels such as Form Realm and Formless Realm can see Desire Realm, otherwise it cannot be done. Beings in Desire Realm need to have high meditation practice to reach those realms.

Normally, everyone is in their own realm and does not naturally see or connect with each other. There must be a clear purpose to find each other. If there is any sign, one realm recognizes the other, seeks the other realm, there must be a reason, a cause.

As we have seen through the quotation about the causes of non-human disturbance in the Compassion Sutra, in the Jewel Sutra, we also find a similar cause of non-human disturbance in the people of Vaisali due to an epidemic, corpses were thrown all over the streets, messy, dirty, the stench was rising, and we can deduce that the Devas could not stay in such a place. Such a dirty place. If the Devas leave, it is easy for non-humans to run wild. The victims who died from the epidemic can also become non-humans and return to cause trouble if they have not been liberated.

When the Buddha accepted the invitation to go to Vaisali, the Devas accompanied the Buddha. Let's continue reading the excerpt from the Commentary:

Immediately after the Buddha entered the city of Vesālī, the Lord of the Gods (Sakka), the King of the Gods, was informed by the community of Devas. With the appearance of the Devas with such great power, most of the non-human beings fled.

After clearly understanding who the Non-Humans are, we also understand the audience for whom the Jewel Sutra was recited. That is all living beings, without exception, including all Non-Humans according to the definition we have given above.

Let's read again the opening verse of the sutra:

"In this world,
There are living beings gathered,
Or on this earth
Or in the middle of space.
May all living beings,
Be pleased and pleased,
So, be careful,
Listen to this teaching.

And the Pali verse is:

Yānīdha bhūtāni samāgatāni
Bhummāni vā yāni va antalikkhe
Sabbeva bhūtā sumanā bhavantu
Atho pi sakkacca sunantu bhāsitam

We only need to study the two words Sanh Linh in the Vietnamese translation.

Sanh Linh is the Vietnamese translation from the Bhutani word.

So who is Sanh Linh? Is Sanh Linh a living being?

Let's define the two words Chung Sanh because Sanh Linh is not outside Chung Sanh.

The word Chung Sanh has a slightly different meaning from Sanh Linh because it is translated from the original Sanskrit word, Sattva, Vietnamese pronunciation is Tat Doa, carrying many meanings such as Sanh ra, exist, along with qualities such as truth, light (opposite to dark), movement (opposite to stillness). Quoted from: https://www.anandamayi.org/ashram/Lexiquesanskrit.htm

We have the definition in French:

Sattva.être, créature; fœtus; existence, réalité, nature; essence | force, énergie, courage; esprit, souffle vital, principe vital | intelligence, conscience, vérité | phil. [sâmkhya] 1re qualité [guna] de la nature, essence sainte de la purity and de la vérité.

The two words Chung Sanh used to translate the word Sattva have only one main meaning: Birth, but can be accompanied by qualities such as truthfulness, clarity, movement...

According to Dharma Master Yin Shun in Buddhist Dharma Overview, we have the definition of the two words Chung Sanh translated from the word Sattva as follows:

Sanskrit “tát-đỏa” is translated as Hữu tình. Tình, the ancients explained as love or consciousness. Species with love or consciousness, that is, with mental activity, are close to the concept of animals that the secular world often talks about: Tát-đỏa is a noun that has existed since ancient times in India, like the Three Virtues of Self-nature of the So-luhan: Tát-đỏa, Lát-xá, Đạp-ma have come from this Tát-đỏa. The Three Virtues of So-luhan, similar to the Yin-Yang of China, can be explained from many aspects. For example, talking about psychology, Tát-đỏa is sentiment; talking about movement and stillness, Tát-đỏa is movement; talking about light and darkness, Tát-đỏa is light. Therefore, it can be seen that Tát-đỏa symbolizes sentiment, activity, and light.

Through that, it can be seen that Hữu Tình is a species with mental activity, using vibrant enthusiasm to create a stream of life. The Heart Sutra says that Tát-đỏa is a species with “great heart”, “happy heart”, “courageous heart”, “like a diamond "mind", which means a species with a strong, unceasing effort. Small as an ant or a termite, big as a human, and all other sentient beings are always in the boiling river of life with love as the root. Sentient beings take that love or consciousness as the root, due to irrational impulses and attachment to circumstances and themselves, so it is not easy to free themselves from bondage to realize freedom.

The Treatise on the Great Wisdom, volume 31 defines that living beings are born thanks to the five aggregates and the combined causes and conditions, so they are called living beings. So living beings, born from the combination of causes and conditions, are creatures in general, all born from the gathering of a cause and condition and at the same time also have causes and conditions with each other to be born together. Living beings are divided into two classes, sentient and insentient. Sentient beings have consciousness, feelings, emotions, thoughts, perceptions, the ability to function the senses, the physical part and the psychological part and of course they can also act, just at different levels, for example, animals are also sentient beings, they also have feelings, feelings, pain, happiness, sadness, anger, they also have minds that can think but are limited and follow instincts, without reason, can be clear-minded, think broadly and deeply like humans.

Insentient beings refer to inanimate species, such as plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, the sun, the moon, which is nature.

The Buddha taught that sentient beings drift in the Six Paths (Heaven, Asura, Human, Animal, Hungry Ghost and Hell) and are not outside the Three Realms (Desire Realm, Form Realm, Formless Realm). Thus, Sentient Beings include all sentient beings in the six paths and three realms. And each realm is also divided into many different realms. Our Saha world has Four Continents (Northern Kula Continent, Eastern Thang Than Continent, Western Ngu-Hoa Continent, Southern Thien Boi Continent or (Nam Diem Phu De) The Desire Realm has 6 Heavenly realms. The Form Realm has 18 Heavenly realms. The Formless Realm has 4 Heavenly realms.

Living beings drifting in the six paths are divided into many types, distinguished by the form of birth, including the following:

Ovarian birth: Hatched from eggs like chickens, ducks, birds...

Viviparous birth: Born from the womb like humans, pigs, cows, goats...

Weak birth: Born from damp places like insects, butterflies...

Transformation birth: Transformed and born like the Heavenly species, the species in Hell...

After thoroughly studying the two words Living Beings, we immediately see that both Living Beings and Non-Humans are included in Living Beings. According to the Commentary of Bhikkhu Thien Minh that we have consulted at the beginning of the article, we find the definition of Living Beings as follows:

“Living beings (bhūtāni): from bhūta [past participle of the verb bhavati „to exist‟ and another passage “There is no being in this world that is composed of mere substances; This means all sentient beings (satta)”.

We clearly see that Sanh Linh is not outside of Sentient Beings. And saying that there is only a compound, opens up for us the horizon of Non-Self.

According to the Buddhist Dictionary, Sanh Linh refers to the consciousness of living beings.

We have understood that existence is due to causes and conditions, due to matter, due to the four elements and also due to the Five Aggregates, having both material and psychological elements. Except for the Formless Realm, there is no physical form but there is still the psychological part, the Mind or Consciousness. By clinging to the Body as the Self or clinging to the Mind as the Self, we are still stuck in the cycle of birth and death.

The opening verse is the Buddha's call for all sentient beings to listen to what the Buddha is about to say. Let's continue reading in the Commentary: Now the World-Honored One has gathered all non-human beings in two different sentences. Whether they are sentient beings on the earth or in the sky, may each of them or all of them be at peace. In this regard, all (sabbe) [means] without distinction. Each kind (and eva literally means that) is only for emphasis; His intention is: not to exclude any species. Here, beings (bhūta, masculine plural) means: non-human beings. May....may they have peace of mind (sumāna bhavantu): may they have joy in mind (sukhitamana), become happy and joyful.

Through the above Commentary excerpt, we can understand that the Buddha's initial call is directed towards all living beings in a broad sense, without limits, because the Buddha will proclaim a Dharma period that is like a downpour that can wet everyone, including inanimate objects.

But through the next verse, we can think that the Buddha is directing towards living beings in a narrow sense, meaning sentient beings, with perception, with spirit or consciousness and with discriminating intelligence, knowing good from evil, being able to understand, being able to think clearly, being able to abandon ignorance and pursue enlightenment. Why?

Let's read the second verse:

"Therefore, all living beings,
should pay attention,
Arouse compassion,
Towards all human beings.
Day and night,
They bring offerings,
Therefore, do not be negligent,
Help protect them."

We clearly see that the Buddha gave the instruction to protect those who, day and night, diligently, without being negligent, often bring offerings, to whom? Offer to the Devas, to the Non-humans only. Then these Devas, these Non-humans should return to help the people who made offerings to them. The one who makes the offering can dedicate the merit and the one who receives the offering can also enjoy the benefits.

This sentence is also found in the Commentary: Therefore, protect them; therefore, protect and sustain those who have made the offerings. Repel their sufferings, bring them happiness, keep this gratitude in mind and think about it often.

Through this second verse, we can confirm that the target that the Buddha is calling to listen to the teachings or the Dharma that is about to be spoken is the Devas and Non-humans in general with the message to develop compassion and protect human beings. Other power is present here.

And we should also understand that a word spoken by the Buddha is like a rain that waters all beings, all things, without exception, sentient and insentient, from the lowest to the highest realm. As the Buddha declared, after the Jewel Sutra was spoken, quoted from the Commentary: "That safety will spread throughout the Ten Thousand Great Thousand Worlds..."

Here we have finished learning about the object of the Jewel Sutra, in the next part we will continue learning about the content of the sutra.

Namo Sakyamuni Buddha

Nhat Duyet LKTH

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