DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

---o0o---

The meaning of life, the material that makes true happiness, and for happiness to last long, is only when the source of love nourishes each person's heart. It seems that this rule has become a truth of life. That is why there is an opinion that:

- Love is human happiness.

Indeed, when you are young, it seems that everyone in you often sees the concept of happiness as very simple, as what you desire. But when you grow up, step into life, when you really set foot on the journey of life, assert yourself, search for the value of life and the meaning of yourself, you will realize that love is human happiness.

Whether vague or clear, everyone can realize that love is a beautiful and passionate human emotion, it connects sympathetic hearts. There are many types of love; it can be love between couples, love between family, friends, and above all, love between people in general. And it can also be the simplest, closest feelings from caring and looking after each other in life, to greater feelings of class and community. That love is a sincere and pure heart of love and is also a kind of love that is only given without needing to receive, without profit, without calculation. It can be said that love is a beautiful feeling that always exists when people know how to care for each other.

Thus, in life, in addition to countless physical factors affecting material life and human health, there are also factors of the spiritual space that have no less influence. For example:

- The electricity from the mother's hands when caring and caressing makes the child develop better physically.

- The sincere love of people living close to each other also makes their bodies healthier without them knowing it.

- The reflexology massage method is highly appreciated by the medical community in preventing and curing some diseases. But in fact, 30% is due to the mental power of the person massaging to cure the patient. If the mental power is strong, the spiritual power itself has contributed to curing the disease by more than half.

- When people take care of plants, the spiritual interaction between plants and people makes both healthier. That is why trees growing near the house are often better than trees growing far from home. So please cherish and respect each stem and leaf. Spend some time taking care of your flower garden. Your health will be better thanks to that.

This is the case with plants, let alone with animals and humans. If you live in an environment where people and birds are attached to each other and love each other sincerely, without hatred or jealousy, then the impact of the mutual spiritual space will also make everyone healthy. This is not about psychology! It is not because your mind feels comfortable when loving and being loved, then that comfort makes you healthy. Not so! It is the invisible energy emitted from love that works miracles, increasing the body's resistance.

Some recent statistics show that single people die more than married people. Initially, medical experts assessed that it was due to sexual activity. But even single people who have sex outside of marriage still die early. People also believe that when people have a stable family, they are better cared for, so their health improves. That is only a secondary reason; the main reason is that true love creates spiritual energy that makes them healthier.

So the key to the problem lies in a loving environment! If you live alone, like monks, for example, choose a monastery where people know how to love each other, and thanks to that, your health will be better. If you have to live alone to meditate, spend some time taking care of your garden or some bonsai. Your love for plants will also improve your health

To put it in reverse, if taking care of trees improves health, then destroying trees certainly reduces human health. People who regularly cut down trees often encounter bad luck and often get strange diseases. When a tree is violated, the tree's spiritual reaction also strikes the culprit. A little at a time, over time, the person cutting down the tree will become seriously ill. There are some old trees, hundreds of years old, thousands of years old; the spiritual power of these trees is very strong. It can emit a spiritual reaction that makes the person who wants to cut it down vomit blood immediately. Those who witnessed this unusual phenomenon concluded that the tree is inhabited by a spirit or some kind of evil spirit. It is only because the older the tree, the stronger the spiritual power it emits. Understanding this, let's join hands to protect the forest, protect the green life of this beloved earth, so that everyone can be healthy. This is speaking in common sense. However, hidden in the essence, the law of Karma has tightly controlled the health of people.

- If a person often uses their strength to help people, or regularly takes care of the health of many people. Such good karma has become mature, becoming an almost fixed nature. It makes this person's next life have extremely special genes that perfectly regulate the body, protecting the body from all harmful invasions from the outside. These people will live a healthy life and will die peacefully and painlessly.

Depending on the karma of the previous life, a person's illness will be difficult to cure or will end quickly. Sometimes they go from place to place looking for a doctor to cure them forever, without being cured. When the karma is over, they accidentally eat food with medicinal properties, and the illness is unexpectedly cured. Or when their blessings are enough, they will meet a good doctor to treat them.

- When their karma is not over, sometimes they also meet good doctors, but because of bad karma, the doctor's mind is obscured, unable to diagnose the illness accurately, and cannot cure it.

In addition, each karma will create a different type of illness.

- For those who shed blood, by killing animals or fighting on the battlefield, after paying off the main karma, the remaining secondary karma is often pale and anemic.

- For those who despise and look down on the Saints, the retribution that comes is leprosy.

- For those who often argue, nag, and cause trouble, making others anxious and restless, the retribution that comes back is some endocrine and nervous diseases that cause brain tension, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, etc.

Once again, please confirm that as human beings, you are fundamentally the same. You all live together on this earth. Everyone has the same wish to live happily and does not like suffering. You all love yourself and wish for good luck. Nowadays, in terms of material development, you have achieved a lot, and every country on this planet is aiming for a perfect life and building a more prosperous, civilized society. Indeed, you have succeeded in achieving these things. However, material development and progress are not enough to bring happiness to people. The reason is very simple: Because people are not products of machines, but also have spiritual lives. Therefore, you need other things besides the external material world to have happiness. Therefore, the most important thing in human life is love. Without love, people cannot have true happiness. If you want to have a happier life, family, good neighbors, and a happier country, the secret of success lies entirely in your heart. Even if all five billion people living on this earth were millionaires, without inner peace, people would not be able to have lasting peace and happiness.

For example, some people are very rich, but you will find that they are often not happy. Affection, love, and compassion are essential ingredients for human life. Peace of mind helps a lot with your health. Of course, material comforts, food, and medicine also bring health to the human body. But mental happiness is the most important thing for your good health.

Everyone is interested in world peace. Modern weapons or military power, in some cases and circumstances, can sometimes bring temporary peace. But in the long run, military conflict, hatred, and suspicion cannot help you achieve true and lasting world peace. World peace can only be achieved through inner peace, listening, understanding, and mutual respect among people. Therefore, love and compassion are still the key and secret to success, leading to world peace.

Consider the case of a happy family. The fundamental thing is still built on love. Your success or failure in life depends largely on the environment and circumstances in which you are raised and grow up. Children born in families with full love and care from their parents will be the ones who reap the most success and happiness. On the contrary, a child's life can be ruined if he grows up in the rejection, mistreatment, and lack of love of his parents. As long as human kindness exists, the seed of love will exist. Although both good and bad thoughts originate in the human heart, the strongest emotion in human life is still love. Therefore, the seed of compassion is always the natural nature that is present from the moment a person is born.

When you are born, you are completely ignorant of ideology, ism, or religion, and all these things you think about later. But love is very necessary for you from the moment you are born. Indeed, a newborn baby cannot survive without the love and care of its mother.

Therefore, love is the most important and necessary food to nourish a person. True compassion is not only an expression of love but also a sense of responsibility to share and wholeheartedly help each other. True compassion arises when you see someone suffering, and you immediately want to save them from that suffering so that they can be happy.

You often think that when you have compassion for someone, it is because that person has feelings of closeness to you. That is, when they are still close friends, you think of them. When that person is no longer attached to you or you change and do not want to be close to them, your compassion also ends. This is not true compassion, but only conditional attachment. A person with true compassion never distinguishes whether the person you help is close or distant, friend or enemy; you only know that that person is in difficulty, suffering, and they also want to end that suffering to have happiness like you.

There is a discussion about the perspective of love and happiness. Marriage and sex are not the only results of crazy love between men and women; you also have to understand and sympathize with each other. When you know clearly about the temperament, bad habits, as well as the health condition of the person you love, then you can completely trust and respect your future partner. And then you decide to get married and start a family together. In addition, you must also be aware of the responsibilities between the two of you. Therefore, if a man and a woman want to get married and live happily for a long time, they must carefully consider all the above aspects. As a human being, you have more special abilities and understanding than other creatures. The more intelligent people are, the more far-sighted they are. The richer people are, the more responsible they are for themselves and others. Thus, as a blessed person, you not only have the responsibility to help others but also think about the happiness of all humanity as well as the survival of this earth. If you use your ability and intelligence to destroy human happiness, it will be a terrible disaster for human life. You should use your knowledge and talent to build and bring happiness to all living beings. I believe that those who use their intelligence for selfish personal interests, without thinking about the happiness of others, will inevitably regret it later.

I certainly think that both humans and other living beings have perception and understanding. If you treat other living beings with love, they will be affectionate to you. If you hate and reject them, they will know and not like it. If you live with kindness and sympathy for someone, that person will always want the same. In case you treat others badly, harm them, they will respond badly and cause sadness to you, whether they are religious or not, rich or poor, intellectual or ignorant. So love and compassion are very necessary for everyone because all of you want happiness, and do not like suffering.

Some people believe that love, kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are essential virtues of religion. That is not true, but there are good deeds to be done. And everyone knows that, whether they are religious or not. These are essential virtues if you want to live happily and become a perfect citizen. In terms of religion, if you find a religion that suits you, you should choose to follow that religion. If you do not want to, you can give it up. But the important thing is that you should have love because it is the basic and necessary moral foundation of human beings.

Happiness is spiritual. Machines cannot provide it, and you cannot buy it. Money and wealth can only give you a part of happiness, not complete happiness. These things do not directly help you be happy. Happiness comes from within; no one can give it to you. A peaceful mind is the greatest source of happiness. It does not depend on external circumstances. It doesn't matter if your life lacks material comforts, your education is mediocre, or your career is not very successful, as long as your mind is at peace. When you are born, you are completely ignorant of ideology, ism, or religion, and all these things you think about later. But love is very necessary for you from the moment you are born. Indeed, a newborn baby cannot survive without the love and care of its mother.

Therefore, love is the most important and necessary food to nourish a person. True compassion is not only an expression of love but also a sense of responsibility to share and wholeheartedly help each other. True compassion arises when you see someone suffering, and you immediately want to save them from that suffering so that they can be happy.

You often think that when you have compassion for someone, it is because that person has feelings of closeness to you. That is, when they are still close friends, you think of them. When that person is no longer attached to you or you change and do not want to be close to them, your compassion also ends. This is not true compassion, but only conditional attachment. A person with true compassion never distinguishes whether the person you help is close or distant, friend or enemy; you only know that that person is in difficulty, suffering, and they also want to end that suffering to have happiness like you.

There is a discussion about the perspective of love and happiness. Marriage and sex are not the only results of crazy love between men and women; you also have to understand and sympathize with each other. When you know clearly about the temperament, bad habits, as well as the health condition of the person you love, then you can completely trust and respect your future partner. And then you decide to get married and start a family together. In addition, you must also be aware of the responsibilities between the two of you. Therefore, if a man and a woman want to get married and live happily for a long time, they must carefully consider all the above aspects. As a human being, you have more special abilities and understanding than other creatures. The more intelligent people are, the more far-sighted they are. The richer people are, the more responsible they are for themselves and others. Thus, as a blessed person, you not only have the responsibility to help others but also think about the happiness of all humanity as well as the survival of this earth. If you use your ability and intelligence to destroy human happiness, it will be a terrible disaster for human life. You should use your knowledge and talent to build and bring happiness to all living beings. I believe that those who use their intelligence for selfish personal interests, without thinking about the happiness of others, will inevitably regret it later.

I certainly think that both humans and other living beings have perception and understanding. If you treat other living beings with love, they will be affectionate to you. If you hate and reject them, they will know and not like it. If you live with kindness and sympathy for someone, that person will always want the same. In case you treat others badly, harm them, they will respond badly and cause sadness to you, whether they are religious or not, rich or poor, intellectual or ignorant. So love and compassion are very necessary for everyone because all of you want happiness, and do not like suffering.

Some people believe that love, kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity are essential virtues of religion. That is not true, but there are good deeds to be done. And everyone knows that, whether they are religious or not. These are essential virtues if you want to live happily and become a perfect citizen. In terms of religion, if you find a religion that suits you, you should choose to follow that religion. If you do not want to, you can give it up. But the important thing is that you should have love because it is the basic and necessary moral foundation of human beings.

Happiness is spiritual. Machines cannot provide it, and you cannot buy it. Money and wealth can only give you a part of happiness, not complete happiness. These things do not directly help you be happy. Happiness comes from within; no one can give it to you. A peaceful mind is the greatest source of happiness. It does not depend on external circumstances. It doesn't matter if your life lacks material comforts, your education is mediocre, or your career is not very successful, as long as your mind is at peace.

Sharing love, giving alms to the poor and needy are the basic secrets to bring you happiness. Try to become a moral person with an altruistic soul, whether you are a religious person, a politician, or a businessman. A perfect individual can contribute positively to the happiness of the family and the community.

Therefore, religions were born at different times and places for the sake of humanity. But no matter what, all religions help people develop good qualities and eliminate bad qualities. Many major religions in the world convey the same message of love and compassion, although the expression of their teachings is different. All religions teach people to love, listen, and forgive each other, as well as to build and develop good qualities in people. Over the centuries, millions of people have received immense benefits from religions. Unfortunately, these different beliefs have caused conflicts, hatred, terrorism, and war. If you understand that the common purpose of religions is to guide and train you to become a virtuous and good human being, then you should respect all religions.

Your goal is happiness, and it depends on other factors. Happiness can be temporary or permanent. Long-term happiness is more important, so the Buddha taught the third truth, which is the cessation of suffering, which means reaching Nirvana or complete peace and liberation. He also taught the methods of practice to end suffering.

The Four Noble Truths include four truths that explain happiness and suffering and the causes of those sufferings and happinesses. The purpose of human life is to seek happiness. From the moment you are born, you have the right to enjoy happiness, and if you want to have lasting happiness, you must practice and develop your inner life; no one gives you and external factors are responsible for that happiness. How you can apply the understanding of the Four Noble Truths in your daily life is up to each of you to know how to apply. Remember, virtues such as compassion, love, and wisdom are the materials that create lasting happiness for people, which are good qualities. The reason is that you realize that happiness is the peace that everyone wishes to achieve. Practicing those good qualities will help you change into a happier and more peaceful person. That is why you call them good qualities.

According to the Buddha's teachings, the reason people do evil deeds and cause suffering to others is because of ignorance. This act of ignorance or wrong perception through practicing meditation, you can develop wisdom, keep your body, speech, and mind completely pure, and thus, ignorance will be eliminated. All of you desire to live happily. Happiness or suffering depends on your own good or bad actions. The human mind is inherently pure. Therefore, you can practice to avoid doing evil and diligently do good deeds. Therefore, you can overcome and eliminate suffering. When you clearly understand its cause, the Truth of Origin is the second truth in the Four Noble Truths that the Buddha taught. By thoroughly understanding the origin of suffering, you will find a way to end it. The Truth of Cessation is the third truth. And finally, following the path of practice that the Buddha taught to escape suffering and no longer reincarnate or reach the realm of Nirvana is the fourth truth in the Four Noble Truths.

When you clearly understand your goal of liberation, you will try to avoid doing evil deeds. To succeed in this practice, you need to understand the meaning of suffering clearly. You must constantly strive with a strong will, determined to eliminate that suffering, which is the presence of happiness. To achieve results, you must practice letting go.

- First, you try to stay away from sensual pleasures in this life.

- Second, vow to give up all passions and desires in the next life.

For example, when you think of the sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death in the present life, as well as the suffering of falling into the six realms such as hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, etc. in the next life, then you will try to practice to practice to escape the cycle of birth and death.

To realize the will to stay away from sensual pleasures in this life, you need to think of happiness and liberation in the next life. Or you can avoid doing evil deeds by trying to do the ten good deeds.

To achieve merit while practicing, you also need to have the virtue of confidence in your ability to become enlightened. With the help of the human body and wisdom, you can do and achieve everything if you know how to practice diligently.

The Bodhisattva teachings teach that all sentient beings have Buddha nature or the ability to practice to become Buddhas. This teaching of the Buddha has helped you increase your confidence in your practice to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

Some people lack the virtue of confidence in themselves. This is very wrong and harmful. You have this body with a mind and wisdom. If you know how to rely on it as a means to practice meditation, you can develop your true mind to become holy. With time and patience, you will achieve the merit of practicing to transform your inner self from bad to good and evil to good; therefore, whether in life or religion, self-confidence is still a very necessary virtue for you.

In addition, compassion is also an important factor. It helps you expand your love to help all living beings. With a compassionate heart, you can easily make friends with people, animals, and insects. When you have an altruistic soul, you will have many close friends. So, even if others do not treat you well, if you are happy and friendly with them, eventually they will change and love you. On the contrary, with an evil, narrow-minded, and selfish heart, good and knowledgeable friends will stay away from you.

In addition, a clear understanding of the Buddha's teachings, that all living beings have Buddha nature. Or that being born as a human in this life is an extremely fortunate thing, as well as that life is impermanent, will help you strive to practice diligently to be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

As the topic has said, having love means having happiness, but you also need to understand, there are two types of love:

- Selfish and altruistic.

If people only know how to love themselves, see themselves as more important than others, and never act to benefit others, that is selfish love, which does not bring happiness and peace to anyone. On the contrary, altruistic love is a vast and boundless love. That is the compassion of Bodhisattvas who want to save all sentient beings.

Bodhisattvas, with great compassion, constantly act to help people not only for many days, months, or years but for endless time. Not in one lifetime, two or three lifetimes, but millions, countless lifetimes. Bodhisattvas never get bored or tired of having to serve and save sentient beings for such an infinitely long time. They also do not lose heart when thinking about the countless number of sentient beings who need them to save them. Without great compassion, no one can act altruistically to save sentient beings like that.

While the Bodhisattvas' boundless altruism wants to save sentient beings, human desires are the opposite. There are two types:

- Bad and good.

When you have selfish greed, only thinking about your benefit and causing harm and suffering to others, then that desire, according to the Buddha's teachings, is an unwholesome action. On the contrary, when you know how to direct your desire to help bring peace and happiness to others and all sentient beings, then that desire is a wholesome action that people should strive to carry out.

Next, you must understand life as impermanent. There are two cases here:

- First is the change that you can recognize, such as suddenly a loved one passes away or dies in an unexpected accident.

- Second is the subtle, slow change in each moment that you cannot perceive with your naked eyes. For example, the flower in front of me is slowly changing in the moment, and eventually it will wither and be destroyed. Thanks to the enlightenment of wisdom, you realize that the nature of life is impermanent, so your mind is always happy, free, and liberated in the face of all the vicissitudes and changes of life.

Contemplate these things to see that human life is fragile and temporary, and from there you can put aside prejudices, suspicions, and hatreds and love each other.

In short, according to Buddhism, you will not have eternal peace and happiness as long as your thoughts, words, and actions are still dominated and controlled by ignorance, ambition, and hatred. If ignorance is not eliminated, then Nirvana and liberation will not exist. Thus, you will forever be in the cycle of birth and death, going up and down in and out of the three evil paths.

To end all suffering, attain Nirvana, and reach the realm of complete peace and happiness, according to the Buddha's teachings, you must make an effort to practice diligently, destroy ignorance, and eliminate afflictions. In addition, you should also cultivate love, practice charity, always think of peace and welfare, and find ways to help all sentient beings escape the sea of suffering. In other words, you have cultivated the Bodhi mind (Bodhicitta), practiced the Bodhisattva Path with the aspiration of attaining enlightenment and becoming a Buddha.

When you develop and practice this precious Bodhicitta, no matter what religion you follow, you will become a holy person with immense compassion, always wanting to help everyone in society to end suffering and find happiness. According to Buddhism, after you develop Bodhicitta, your heart becomes pure; evil qualities will be eliminated to give way to good qualities to arise. With that good mind, with that love, you will certainly live a happy life. After leaving this physical body, you will be reborn into a peaceful realm in your future life.

---o0o---