DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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We are born into this world, no different from a group of people walking together on every path of life. Among all paths of life, such as:

- Noble path

- The path of debauchery.

- The path of suffering

- The path of peace and liberation

And it can be said that this is an extremely complicated group of people. Different in all aspects, from age, health, culture to level of knowledge... Some people move forward peacefully and quietly. Some people are busy trying to encourage and guide others, even giving their backs to carry the weak, and some people just like to stand at bus stops and wait for people to pick them up. Not to mention the scenes of jostling and pickpocketing, or cheating and taking advantage of each other... Moreover, many people do not look in the direction of the intellectual's pointing finger to move forward but just wander around picking up things, other people's possessions are dropped or left behind. Then they hugged it, carried it, put it on their head, stumbled, and fell as they walked. Not only that, but on the road there are also groups of people going in the opposite direction and you have to move to the side to avoid crashing into them.

Looking to both sides of the road, you will see many noisy scenes: Markets, shops, theaters, casinos, including scenes of fraud, stabbings, shootings, bomb explosions, burning houses, The bridge collapsed..., and some people stopped to look engrossed and in their hearts wanted to rush in and participate.

Some very simple images of the paths you have chosen. Among the paths, there is only one path that I want to introduce to you to help each person see themselves on that path and choose the best way forward for you. Indeed, when Buddha was still alive, he taught about the Only One Path to Liberation to everyone at many different levels of understanding. He explained to the simple farmers. He also once held up a flower petal and without saying a word preached that Path to enlightened people. That event shows that although the path is always the same, it has many different nuances. That's why today the Venerable Ones also have to use many different teaching methods.

After the Buddha passes away, the old path will still be there, the Dharma replaces the Buddha as the Teacher to guide you. Therefore, Buddha's disciples gathered together to try to keep the Path always neat and clear. They clean up trash, clear obstacles, and expand, each time it is called a Dharma Gathering Conference. To adapt to ideological trends and local cultural characteristics of each era. Also due to the different temperaments of later disciples, the Path to Liberation has been slightly deformed and has also taken on some new decorations, making the scene somewhat different, but not lost mean practice and liberation.

Indeed, right from the Gathering held in the 3rd century BC, people saw the emergence of two different schools. Then, by the time of the Gathering in the first century AD, these two sects had doubled, and each sect had many sects, a total of 18 sects. But most of these sects have disappeared and only two sects remain today in a new form called Theravada Buddhism or Theravada, and a new trend called Mahayana or Mahasangiska.

Although there are two main trends or policies: Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. The difference between these two trends belongs more to the realm of practice, while the end is always the same.

Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism are not two different schools or sects, but rather just two different attitudes or practice policies, moving together on a common Path:

- In terms of application, Theravada Buddhism requires practitioners to separate their activities from secular life. You must strictly follow the precepts, reminding you to always let go and aim for the liberation of an Arhat.

- Meanwhile, Mahayana Buddhism raises the ideal image of a Bodhisattva who is determined to deny his ultimate enlightenment, to remain in the Saha world to continue helping all sentient beings.

At first glance, Mahayana Buddhism is extremely complicated, to the point that some people who practice Theravada Buddhism believe that Mahayana Buddhism is not the correct path. But in fact, both Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana complement each other to develop side by side, not separately or monotonously like some people once thought. The changing forms are just an evolution that helps the Path expand further into this truly diverse world of yours, and brings to Buddhism, in general, many new and deeper aspects. Theravada Buddhism claims to adhere to the teachings preached by the Buddha, but it has changed quite a bit over time, to adapt to local contexts and different trends. Both Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism complement each other. In a very general way, it can be seen that Theravada Buddhism has a more or less orthodox character that is quite restrictive and always takes care to keep true to what is recorded in ancient scriptures. Meanwhile, Mahayana Buddhism has more open and more earthly aspects. So what is Mahayana Buddhism?

If Theravada Buddhism advocates the pure image of an Arhat, then Mahayana Buddhism promotes the responsibility of a Bodhisattva. On the Path, if you practice according to Theravada Buddhism, just look at the Arhat in front of you and follow. If you practice according to the Mahayana, you will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Bodhisattva to act like a Bodhisattva. Moreover, in addition to the ideal image of the Bodhisattva, Mahayana Buddhism also teaches many other things, local gods, both gentle and fierce, and at the same time countless Buddhas. Therefore, the Path for Mahayana also becomes more crowded and fun. Mahayana Buddhism includes many sects, but two of them are mentioned by many people: Pure Land and Zen Buddhism.

I- Pure Land:

Pure Land Buddhism advocates that the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss is so beautiful and dignified because of the merits of Amitabha Buddha, the leader of that realm, and the Bodhisattvas and saints who created it together.

If you want to be reborn in the Pure Land mentioned above, you must prepare the following three elements:

- Faith, Prayer, and Action.

These three factors are often called the three qualities. If any one item is missing, the practitioner cannot practice effectively.

1- Trust

- Faith is a firm, unshakable belief. Faith is very important and necessary for practitioners. The Avatamsaka Sutra teaches:

- Believe that the mother gives birth to merits.

Through faith, Bodhi can be achieved. Faith has three parts:

a- Buddha's Faith:

Believe that Buddha is an enlightened being, completely wise, knows the causes of suffering as well as the causes of happiness clearly, and understands dharmas clearly. Believe that out of compassion and wanting to save sentient beings from the suffering of birth and death, Shakyamuni Buddha taught the method of reciting the Buddha's name for sentient beings to practice. By reciting Amitabha Buddha's name, sentient beings can be reborn in the Pure Land. Believe that the teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha are not false and that Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land are both real.

b- Faith in Buddha Dharma:

Believe that the Buddhist recitation method, also known as the Two Powers method, is an easy method to practice, easy to realize, and has certain guarantees. Believe that Amitabha Buddha's 48 vows have enough power to save sentient beings, and if you practice correctly according to this method, you will be reborn in Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land.

c- Self-belief:

Believe that you have the full ability and strength to practice this method. Believe that if you practice exactly as Shakyamuni Buddha taught in the Amitabha Sutra, diligently reciting Amitabha Buddha's name until your mind is undisturbed, then when you die, you will be reborn in Amitabha's Pure Land.

2- Prayer

A vow is a promise, a wish, a desire to do righteous things. Prayer is the driving force for your practice to quickly reach your goal.

Such an important vow, so people who practice the Two Powers method must make a steadfast vow, always adhere to this method of reciting the Buddha's name, practice reciting the Buddha's name day and night, and earnestly wish to be reborn. Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land.

3- Practice

Practice, follow. If you believe without wanting or wishing, it's just an empty belief. But if you want or wish but don't do it, it's just an illusory want or wish that doesn't lead to any results. Therefore, these three basic elements of Faith, Vow, and Action must always be present to be eligible for rebirth in the Pure Land.

After you have prepared all three elements or three dishes of Pure Land food mentioned above, you must practice every second, every minute, every day. But to be effective, you need to clearly understand the practice method. The main scriptures of Pure Land are the Amitabha Sutra and Infinite Life Contemplation Sutra...

II- Zen Religion:

Zen Buddhism can be seen as a shortcut practice, and if it is called a shortcut, of course, it also means a short and difficult path, and of course that is also the exact opposite of Pure Land above. The specific scriptures of Zen include almost nothing except the Lankavatara Sutra and several other books recording koans. Koans are statements, or short stories that are surprising, absurd, or can be silly or off-topic answers intended to help practitioners break through the corners of thinking, beyond all reason. Based on conventional and conceptual understanding, it helps meditators have direct access to the true nature of all phenomena. The direct contemplation of that reality is Enlightenment.

Above are a few sketches of the Path to Liberation. Theravada Buddhism represents steps that are essential and solid, and therefore very pure. Pure Land Buddhism advocates gentle steps, so it may take a long time to see the end of the path. Zen Buddhism is an opposite policy and is considered quite difficult, one must be proactive in the operation of the mind and directly perceive reality. And therefore it may also require the practitioner to have certain special aspects suitable for this practice.

On that Path, there are always people who practice while walking and looking back. Some people still like to watch all kinds of scenes on both sides of the road. Some people limp and have to rely on each other to walk, some people sit down to bandage the wounds of those who stumble, and some people walk very fast. Regardless, everyone on the Path to Liberation can enter the final stage one day. As the ancients said:

- Although the path is smooth, it is difficult to lead

It must depend on those who are determined to go

Anyone who is determined to go will sooner or later reach the final destination, sooner or later they will be satisfied. So when you decide to walk together on a path of liberation, before reaching the destination, that is, while you have been living in everyday life, with many collisions in life, you must be aware that, every day you have to deal with countless things and most of them are unimportant. But sometimes, a small decision can affect not only yourself, but also everyone around you, such as family, relatives, friends, and even future generations. For you at that time, that decision was just a small, trivial matter. But it was a fateful decision at that moment. So when you face troubles, anger, and resentment, you must consider carefully before deciding to do anything. While you are in trouble, you like to do something to relieve the stress and frustration in your mind. And this is easy to do because you can do it right away. But you have to remind yourself that this is an important decision moment. It can cause serious problems for you and others. You must accept difficulties and discipline yourself so as not to do harmful things later.

So you must know, that the pain and discomfort while you have to close yourself according to the Buddha's precepts to help each other walk on a path is less painful than the suffering when you regret what you did in that moment. That fateful second! If you want to be satisfied with the decision about how to behave to satisfy your anger and jealousy at that time, it can bring temporary pleasure and joy at that time. But the result of that rash action can bring long-term suffering later. Your mind will then say:

- This is a small matter, not important at all. But, if I don't, they will despise me!

Don't listen to those lies. It will cause you to do wrong, violate the basic moral principles that you have long cherished and preserved, and will regret it for a long time later. Here is an example:

The story of a rich family, about a child preparing to graduate from school. For several months he had been admiring a beautiful sports car in the showroom of a car dealership. Knowing that his father could afford that car, he hinted to his father about his favorite graduation gift. On graduation day, he waited for a sign that his father had already bought that car. Finally, that morning his father called him into his room and told him he was very proud of him and gave him a gift wrapped in a beautiful box. Excited, but a little disappointed, he opened the gift, and inside he saw a beautiful leather-bound prayer book. Extremely angry because he couldn't see his favorite gift, he shouted:

- Dad is so rich, but you only give me this?

And he angrily ran out of the house, leaving the Bible on the table.

After many years of abandoning his father, he left the family behind because he was angry at his father for not buying a new car as promised. One day, he received news that his father had just passed away, and everyone expected him to return to inherit his father's career. When he returned home and looked back at the old scene, a deep sadness invaded his soul. Rummaging through his father's room, he found the old prayer book still there. Tears fell, he flipped through the pages of the prayer, and suddenly, he saw an envelope hidden inside. When he opened it, he saw a pair of car keys and a brand new invoice with the words in bold:

- Completely Paid.

Looking at the bill, this young man's heart was filled with feelings. What feeling do you think is taking over his soul:

- Touched

- He loves his father

- Or is he regretting?

Reading the above story, you will see that you have acted rashly and impatiently many times because of strong emotions at that time. And how many times have you regretted the above rash and wrong decisions throughout your life? So when starting a new day, you should pray to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to help you maintain bodhicitta, awareness, and mindfulness, and not decide to do things that are wrong with your conscience. Remember, everything starts with a thought in the mind. This is the battlefield, where your victory or defeat is determined. Buddha taught:

- Stay away from unwholesome thoughts.

In short, temptation is always present everywhere and of all kinds: Temptations that tempt you to give up, tempt you to become discouraged, tempt you to change black into white, tempt you to do wrong to erase the mistakes you have made go out. To resist the above temptations is not easy. Therefore, there is only one path of practice, regular meditation, that will help you overcome the temptations of the mind, or follow the habits already contained in the mind as the Sixth Patriarch Huineng once taught:

- If you talk about Buddha's nature, there is no difference between a fool and a saint. With one thought of enlightenment, that person will become a Buddha. One delusional thought will make the other person a fool.

The reason why Buddha taught you to always be alert and mindful is to help you avoid moments of wrong decisions, which, according to familiar habits, can be easily made. As my grandparents often taught:

- Once a full glass of water is spilled on the ground, it is difficult to pick it up again!

Therefore, to avoid these mistakes you must always be alert, especially during times when your emotions are high. As humans, everyone has feelings, but if you only rely on feelings to act, you will do many wrong things and will regret them endlessly.

Thanks to mindfulness, you can avoid feelings of happiness and suffering that lead you to make wrong decisions. Therefore, wisdom and awareness of each feeling will bring you to the path of peace and liberation because of wise decisions, even though sometimes, you have to grit your teeth and be patient to overcome temptations to satisfy your heart at the moment!

Everyday emotions such as loneliness, fear, boredom, or panic can easily make you act rashly. The wisdom of knowing your feelings is not a way of living that covers up, hides, or suppresses, but rather recognizes, empathizes, and gets in touch with the emotions you are experiencing. To understand your true self and your behavioral habits based on these emotions, successful people in life must go through these challenges. And only when they overcome the temptations, torments, and sufferings, and decide not to give in to those temptations to do things against their conscience to satisfy their ego, will they truly be a winner.

So once again, let me confirm that if you want to be a winner, you must walk on the path and only one path of regular practice and meditation will help you overcome the temptations of the mind or habit already contained in the mind.

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