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DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

- AWARENESS OF ANGER
By Nhat Quan
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Anger is one
of the three poisons in the Buddhist scriptures. The Buddha
often teaches the three poisons:
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- Greed,
anger, ignorance
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These are the
causes of unhappiness, trouble, and worry for people. Greed,
anger, and ignorance can be easily found in your actions,
words, and thoughts as well as those of others. Experience
tells you that anywhere or anytime, if greed, anger, and
ignorance are present, and especially anger prevails, private
or public life becomes miserable. Greed, anger, and ignorance
are inherent in humans and society, and they are the causes
that destroy the peaceful life of mankind. Because Anger makes
the heart angry, irritable, and hateful when not satisfied as
desired. Dissatisfied because of being offended, then doing
wrong things. After anger, then holding on to resentment, and
looking for an opportunity to take revenge.
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The reason
anger arises is due to the love for oneself or one's own. If
you scold or criticize someone else, you do not feel angry,
but if someone scolds or reprimands you or your loved ones, or
damages your property, you immediately feel uncomfortable.
When the discomfort increases, it will turn into anger. But
remember that in this world, no one can avoid being
reprimanded or criticized; it is difficult to avoid the
world's mouth, as the Buddha once taught:
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- In the past,
in the future, and the present, there has never been a person
who has not been criticized by everyone or praised by
everyone.
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But because of
being criticized, anger is extremely harmful because when you
are angry, you are no longer calm enough to control your
behavior and language. The Avatamsaka Sutra says:
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- When a
thought of anger arises, hundreds of thousands of doors of
karmic obstacles open.
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And:
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- A spark of
anger can burn down a thousand acres of forest of merit.
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That is why
the Buddha often advised:
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- Give up
anger, then trouble will not come to you.
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You must
cultivate your mind to attain non-anger. Non-anger means not
being hot-tempered, no more anger. Living beings go through
many lives of reincarnation because they cannot overcome
anger. Buddhas are free and liberated because they have
eradicated anger from the root. The most difficult thing is to
eradicate anger right from within the mind. When your mind no
longer thinks of anger, anger will naturally not erupt. When
you keep your mind calm, your blessings are endless. This was
asked by Master Maudgalyayana of many devas by what merit they
had to be reborn in the heavens. These devas listed actions
that seemed not very important, such as not being angry, being
truthful, patient, giving alms, etc., thanks to which
blessings were born.
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When Master
Maudgalyayana asked the Buddha about this, the Buddha taught
him more than:
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- Through
small but good actions, this cause will lead to the heavenly
realms.
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And when
teaching about the merit of the person who makes offerings to
the state of complete purity, the Buddha taught that weeds
harm the fields and gardens, and anger also harms humans.
Therefore, anyone who completely eradicates anger is worthy of
admiration and respect. Just as the elephant is a leading
animal among the animals trained by humans for use. Just as an
elephant has the strength to uproot a tree, wrap its trunk
around it to carry it easily, the Buddha taught that humans
can also create for themselves material potential, mental
strength, and patience, just like a tamed elephant.
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And it is
difficult to practice patience. The Buddha taught that
self-control is very precious and that those who make an
effort and are patient enough to train themselves will also
enjoy good results like those who have skillfully trained
animals such as mules, horses, and elephants. A tamed person,
Dignity is above all. The Buddha advised sentient beings to
abandon both anger and greed. He compared a boat to the body,
to the human body made up of the five aggregates. This body
will disintegrate due to impermanence, so if you examine it
carefully, you will see that it is truly empty. The water in
the boat is the bad thoughts that need to be eliminated. To
drain the water means to immediately extinguish anger, greed,
and ignorance. When the boat is dry, the boat becomes light so
that you can quickly reach the shore. Likewise, when the body
and mind are free of greed and hatred, they become pure, which
is a good condition to quickly attain Nirvana.
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Talking about
the dangers of greed, anger, and ignorance, during the time of
the Buddha, there were some wealthy people who became monks
after they were old. The wife of one of them was a very
skillful cook, so every day, he often brought their alms bowls
back here to beg for food. The donor offered delicious food
and drink. When she died, he missed her, cried, and
complained. The Buddha advised the monks to practice a mind
without attachment because as long as there is a jungle of
greed, anger, and ignorance, the monks will suffer.
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While teaching
people that greed, anger, and ignorance are the causes of a
miserable life and need to be destroyed, the Buddha also told
you that there are three more dharmas: non-greed, non-anger,
and non-delusion, which are psychological factors that need to
be developed to build a peaceful life. To develop these three
good dharmas, you must cultivate according to the right path,
including Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom.
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The Buddha
always paid attention to the path of getting out of greed,
anger, and delusion and encouraged his disciples to practice
it so that the peaceful dharmas would increase and the
suffering dharmas would be eliminated. If you do not practice
skillfully, not only will suffering increase, but good dharmas
will also be eliminated. If you try to practice and cultivate
your mind to escape the cycle of greed, anger, and delusion,
you will, of course, be completely liberated.
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Everyone knows
that anger is a poison that erodes all the merits of practice.
Once anger arises, all the merits of practice that have been
created up to now will be gone. For example, up until now, you
have treated people very well, helped them with everything, so
they are grateful and love you. But one day they do something
wrong, making you angry, scolding them, making them hate you,
then the merits that you have shown them for the past few
years will no longer exist. Just one moment of anger is enough
to destroy all the merits. Anger is so harmful! That is why I
have to remind you today. The things you have learned, you
must strive to practice and remember to endure and be happy
when you come home from the temple.
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Most of you
have made this mistake. So, how can you get rid of anger? How
can you get rid of greed? Chanting sutras and reciting
Buddha's name have not yet eliminated greed and anger. As long
as you chant sutras and recite Buddha's name, greed and anger
will temporarily calm down a bit. When you stop chanting
sutras and reciting Buddha's name, greed and anger will still
arise when conditions permit. So, how can you get rid of greed
and anger?
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According to
the Venerable Ones, first of all, you need to see the origin
of it. The reason you have greed and anger is because of the
ego. You see yourself as too high, too big, wanting this,
wanting that; when you want but cannot get it, you get angry.
For example, you are at home with the authority of a father or
a mother. Every time your children do something against your
will, you get angry and scold them, because you see them as
small, your ego is bigger than theirs, so you easily get
angry. When you go to the government, they do things that go
against your will, you do not dare to get angry, because in
the government, you see yourself as inferior to them, so you
are afraid to get angry. The root of anger is the ego, and the
ego is caused by ignorance. So, to get rid of anger, you must
destroy ego, make the ego, wear it down, and lower it. That is
the key to practicing. Let me share with everyone this story:
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A rich old
lady has a grumpy temper, often gets angry with her children
and grandchildren over small things. Moreover, every time she
gets angry, she uses cruel words, unintentionally hurting many
people, so her interactions with neighbors and friends are not
harmonious.
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She also knows
her shortcomings and wants to correct this mistake. But every
time she gets angry, she cannot control her mind. One day,
someone said to her:
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- There is a
Zen master nearby, also a high monk. Why don't you go ask for
his teachings? Maybe the Zen master can help you.
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She also felt
that it made sense, so she went to consult the Zen master.
When she confided her feelings, she was very sincere, really
wanting to get some words of enlightenment from that Zen
master. The Zen master silently listened to her story, waited
for her to finish speaking, led her into a meditation room,
then locked the door and left.
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She wanted to
get the Zen master's teachings, but unexpectedly, the Zen
master locked her in a cold and dark meditation room. She
angrily shouted, just like usual, and she uttered vicious
insults. But no matter how she shouted, there was still
silence outside; the Zen master seemed not to hear a word.
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When she could
no longer bear it, she changed her attitude and begged the Zen
master to let her go, but the Zen master still did not change
his behavior, still letting her continue to say whatever she
wanted.
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After a long
while, finally, in the meditation room, there was no more
screaming or talking from her, then outside the meditation
room, the Zen master's voice asked:
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- Are you
still angry?
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Then she
angrily replied:
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- I'm only
angry with myself. I regret listening to others, coming to
this hellish place to ask for your opinion.
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The Zen master
gently said:
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- You do not
let go of yourself; how can you forgive others?
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After saying
that, the Zen master was silent again. After a period of
silence, the Zen master asked again:
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- Are you
still angry?
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She replied:
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- No longer
angry!
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Why no longer
angry?
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What use is it
for me to be angry? Aren't you still locking me in this dark
and cold room?
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The Zen master
said with a worried look:
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- You're
acting like this is even more terrifying. You've suppressed
your anger in one place; once it erupts, it will be even more
intense.
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After saying
that, the Zen master turned away again.
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The third time
the Zen master turned back to ask her, she replied:
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- I'm not
angry anymore, you don't deserve my anger!
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The Zen master
said:
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- The root of
your anger is still there; you need to escape the spiral of
anger first.
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After a long
while, she took the initiative to ask the Zen master:
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- Master, can
you tell me what anger is?
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The Zen master
walked in, still not speaking, only making a motion as if
accidentally pouring away the glass of water in his hand. At
this moment, she seemed to understand.
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Through this
lesson, you will see:
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- If you are
not angry, how can you curse?
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- If your mind
is empty, without anything, how can you be angry?
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- If your
heart is not upset, how can you be angry?
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Anger not only
makes you suffer, but also makes those around you sad. When
you are angry, nothing can stop your mouth from saying evil
words, some of which can hurt the listener, even those who
love and care for you.
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- Just one
thought of anger can result in thousands of obstacles arising.
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So do not let
small things cause harm to yourself and others; yelling in
anger is the behavior of a fool. Although you cannot be a
smart person, at least you have enough wisdom to prevent
yourself from being a fool. Take things less seriously and
find the benefits of silence, awakening to the meaning of
meditation in life. From there, you will feel that life does
not have to be as tiring as you think, nor as difficult as you
have encountered.
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Small things
are like grains of sand in your shoes that make your feet
uncomfortable. So, do you choose to shake off the grains of
sand or throw away the shoes? ... You cannot not wear shoes,
because there is a long road ahead, so why don't you shake off
the grains of sand?
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The reason you
cling to the ego is that you see your body and mind as real,
so you cherish it, see it as more noble than everyone else,
and worry about cultivating and embellishing it to make it
bigger. Now, contemplating, you see that it is impermanent, a
temporary combination of causes and conditions, not real, and
seeing that, the notion of clinging to the ego immediately
disappears.
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Most people
who study Buddhism see the Buddha's teachings in the sutras
and commentaries:
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- This body is
impermanent and temporary. You also say that this body is
impermanent and temporary. But you do not have the experience
with wisdom to see that this body is impermanent and
temporary; So the mouth says the body is impermanent and
temporary, but the mind keeps thinking that you are real, that
you will live long, so greed, anger, and resentment never end.
Now you must use your wisdom to observe that this body is
truly fake, and then greed, anger, and resentment will
immediately end.
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Because you
always see your body and mind as really long-lived, you resist
and curse back. So, when you see your body and mind as really
long-lived, then there is competition... When you see your
body and mind as temporary and false, then there is no
competition, no more greed, no anger. In addition, you must
practice patience, but do not suppress anything; see the body
as temporary and false, so there is no competition anymore.
Today you are still here, tomorrow you may not be here. If you
keep competing and do not focus on cultivating, when you die,
you will suffer. You can put aside the competition to
cultivate, cultivate to have peace and leisure tomorrow, then
you are a wise person. But if you keep arguing and competing,
causing suffering to each other, not only suffering in the
present, but also suffering tomorrow like that, you are not a
wise person. So, you are wise when you see this body as
temporary and impermanent, life is too short, focus on
cultivating, put aside all competition and winning.
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Because there
is no competition, people say you are patient, but in reality,
there is no patience. When you have the eye of wisdom, you see
that people and things are not permanent and not real, so you
do not cling. Because you do not cling, you are at peace, so
even if someone scolds you, you still smile and do not get
angry. Unlike those who hear someone talking and doing better
than them, they try to suppress it, suppress it beyond their
tolerance, and then explode, yelling and scolding back. That
person has not yet mastered their anger.
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If you want to
master anger effectively, you must use your wisdom to see that
this body and this life are impermanent, temporary, and have
no real self. When you see that this body and this life are
temporary and not real, then you will not have thoughts of
competing and winning. If there are no thoughts of competing
and winning, then there will be no anger. Furthermore, when
you see that this body is temporary, living on borrowed of
seven elements, then you will not have many desires. You are
greedy for delicious food, beautiful clothes, and luxurious
living... so that this body can be happy. But this body is
temporary and fake, so you do not have greed. Because you are
not greedy, you do not worry about loss and gain, winning and
losing. If you do not worry about loss and gain, winning and
losing, then there is no anger. Thus, when you see this body
as temporary, false, and unreal, you will destroy ignorance.
When ignorance is gone, there is no more greed. When greed is
gone, there is no more anger, and all suffering is gone. If
you chant sutras or recite Buddha's name well, but still cling
to this body as real and precious, then greed and anger will
never end. That is why Buddha taught you to contemplate the
impermanence of the body or the non-self of the dharma.
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To deal with
anger, according to the Ten Wholesome Paths of Karma Sutra, it
is taught:
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- Those who do
not get angry will have a mind that is not miserable, a mind
that does not compete, a mind that is gentle and upright, a
mind that is compassionate like Buddha, always bringing
benefits and peace to living beings, a dignified body that is
respected by living beings, and because of the virtue of
patience, they will quickly be born into the Brahma Heaven.
Moreover, in this life, you can avoid eight diseases caused by
anger:
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1. Melasma
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When angry, a
large amount of blood will rush to the brain, the cause is due
by a decrease in oxygen in the blood, an increase in toxins.
Toxins will stimulate hair follicles to grow, leading to
inflammation around the hair follicles at different levels,
from which dark spots appear on the face.
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2. Aging of
brain Cells
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When a large
amount of blood rushes to the brain, it will put pressure on
the arteries. At this time, the amount of toxins in the blood
increases sharply, and the amount of oxygen decreases to the
lowest level. The brain cells will be like being poisoned.
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3. Stomach
ulcers
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Anger leads to
the sympathetic nerves being stimulated, directly affecting
the heart and arteries, causing the amount of blood
circulating in the digestive tract to decrease, the
circulation process to slow down, causing poor appetite, and
gradually leading to stomach ulcers.
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4. Myocardial
ischemia
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A large amount
of blood rushes to the brain and the entire face, causing a
decrease in blood flow to the heart, causing myocardial
ischemia. Meanwhile, the heart's activity must still be
guaranteed, so at this time it will have to work many times
more than usual, leading to an irregular heartbeat.
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5. Liver
damage.
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When angry,
the body will secrete a substance called Catecholamine. This
substance affects the central nervous system, causing high
blood pressure, increased fatty acid breakdown, and toxins in
the blood and liver also increase accordingly.
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6. Stimulates
the thyroid gland
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When you are
angry, the endocrine system in the body will be disrupted,
causing the thyroid hormone to increase, which, over time,
will lead to thyroid disease.
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7. Harmful to
the lungs
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When you are
emotional, your breathing will be very rapid, the alveoli will
continuously expand, and you will not be able to stretch and
relax.
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8. Damage to
the immune system
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When you are
angry, your body will follow the brain's command to produce
cortisol, a stress hormone. If this substance accumulates too
much in the body, it will prevent the cells of the immune
system from functioning, reducing the body's resistance.
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The harm of
anger is like that, so in you, if you see yourself as greedy,
you must cultivate your mind immediately, and practice being
content with little. Being content with little means wanting
little and knowing enough. Being content with little means
having a simple, noble, and safe life because you know enough
with what you have. Gradually abandon greed to achieve
non-greed.
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In life, there
are five pleasures that you often desire the most: money,
beauty, fame, food, and sleep. Those five pleasures bring
little joy and much suffering. If you are greedy for money,
you will have to torment your body, sometimes using dishonest
means to obtain it, and when you lose it, you will suffer.
Regarding beauty, you should contemplate your body as impure,
because when you are greedy for beauty, you will often fall
into bad schemes to satisfy your desires. If you are greedy
for fame, power, and position, you will have to bow and bend,
work hard, and suffer mentally. If you are greedy for
delicious food, you will have many incurable diseases, your
body will be tired, and your life will not be long. If you are
greedy for sleep, your mind will be dull. Those five pleasures
are the causes that bind your human life to the cycle of birth
and death, reincarnation, and degradation.
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The Buddha
praised those who are not greedy and advised everyone to make
offerings to them. But when giving alms, you should consider
carefully. Doing so will be similar to sowing seeds on good,
fertile soil, and then the seeds will bloom and bear fruit. If
you meet a virtuous person who gives alms, you will receive
many blessings. Talking about the blessings of those who make
offerings to the level of complete purity, the Buddha taught:
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- Greed is
like wild grass that harms the fields. For practitioners,
greed harms the mind, making it difficult for them to attain
enlightenment. There is nothing better than giving alms to
counteract greed. According to the Sutra of Ten Good Deeds:
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- People who
do not desire will achieve the following good things: The
three karmas of body, speech, and mind are free, wealth is not
lost, blessings and good things will come to you, even though
you do not wish for them.
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The Buddha
also taught not to let greed and anger, not to let sin drag
you into suffering. Sin here is contrary to right conduct and
is not following the Dharma.
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In short, you
must be aware that anger is the cause of suffering, then when
you know it, you are not afraid of greed and anger arising,
but only afraid that you are slow to awaken, only afraid that
you are deluded and ignorant. If you know that anger arises,
but you are clear-headed and make timely judgments, without
delusion, then that anger cannot do anything.
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As a Buddhist,
you must eliminate your anger and delusion, always be
clear-headed about everything, and cultivate your mind to
achieve non-delusion. Non-delusion is not obscure, not
deluded. For all things, you must always have clear wisdom,
consider, judge the evil and the good, the bad, the right and
the wrong, etc. Therefore, the work is legitimate, avoiding
harmful things, both beneficial for you and for others, in the
present as well as in the future.
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When teaching
about the blessings of those who make offerings to the level
of complete purity, according to the Sutra of the Ten Good
Deeds, the Buddha taught that those who are not deluded will
achieve the following meritorious dharmas:
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- Having a
joyful and good intention and a good friend; believing in
cause and effect, rather than giving up one's life than doing
evil. Only taking refuge in the Buddha; having an upright
mind, having right views; being born in heaven, avoiding
falling into the three evil paths; enjoying blessings and
wisdom; not clinging to the ego, abandoning all evil karma,
and avoiding disaster, etc.
---o0o---
If you have any recommendations,
please e-mail to:
chuaduocsu@duocsu.org
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