DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

---o0o---

The six senses organs include:

- Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind.

Of these six senses, you often use your eyes the most, so the sins caused by your eyes are also countless. The main function of the eyes is to see and observe, but when comparisons arise, distinguishing between good and bad, love and hate, friend and foe... then it's the idea. From the eyes to the body and mind, thousands of differences arise. Mind is the most dangerous criminal, but that doesn't mean the eyes don't create crimes.

Because the senses are all closely related to each other:

- Eyes see,

- Ears listen

- The mouth utters words of right and wrong,

- The body acts,

- The tongue immediately distinguishes,

- Nose smells fragrant, or impure,

- The mind rises, rolls, runs, jumps.

As a student of Buddhism, you know that the mind relies on the Six organs of sense to recognize the six sense objects and differentiate them into six consciousnesses, while the five aggregates change very quickly, so the human mind also has to follow. Racing thoughts arise in your mind. The next idea replaces the previous idea, so the delusion never stops. If false thoughts remain, the true mind disappears. That is, when senses and objects collide, consciousness will be born, so when one sense understands the source, the other senses will also become clear. That is, at that time, the Six organs of sense are no longer mundane, but the six sense organs become six magical powers, which are:

1- Divine Eyesight: The ability to see everything in the world of form. The ability to see what you want to see.

2- Divine ear: The ability to hear all sounds. Ability to listen and understand any language.

3- Ability to perceive other people's thoughts: Being able to read other people's thoughts, enlightened beings reach high or low levels depending on their success.

4- Magical powers: The ability to go anywhere and do anything at will.

5- Remembrance of one's former state of existence: The ability to know the past and future of oneself and others.

6- Supernatural consciousness of the waning of vicious propensities: The ability to end impurities and bring the mind to freedom from all desires.

As for writers and poets, when talking about eyes, they often describe:

- The eyes are the windows of the soul.

Truly, the eyes are the window, so all good and bad things are received. But, usually, you view evil very carefully. On the contrary, evil is good. You take good things for granted, not knowing whether they are heavy or light. Your obsession with beauty causes countless sins. More importantly, because of ignorance, you cannot see your true face, so you are forever sinking and floating in the three realms and six roads. As a student of Buddha Dharma, everyone recognizes that the six organs of sense, the six consciousnesses, and the six sense objects are all false, unreal dharmas. However, the six sense organs are the internal body because it has the habit of coming into contact with the six sense objects, which are the external environment, and the external environment always has an attraction that fascinates the six sense organs. Therefore, when the six consciousnesses, meaning ideas and thoughts, are generated, your mind is filled with delusions, constantly changing. If you want the six sense organs to not be tempted by external circumstances, you must keep your mind completely pure and eliminate all attachments, then ignorance and delusion will be destroyed.

Recalling the old days, before the Buddha attained enlightenment, he had to fight day and night with the Maras. Inside, there are the five aggregates of demons, the dharma practice of demons, the four cessations of demons, and outside there are the heavenly demons.

Indeed, fighting internally is much more difficult than fighting externally, because if you keep the six sense organs pure, no matter how seductive and attractive the six sense objects are, it is impossible to change your clear mind. One of the methods to keep the mind pure is to practice the Eightfold Path.

As once said, the eyes are an important part of receiving all information from the outside, so when expressing hunger, instead of having to use the mouth to eat, now you eat with your eyes, drink with your eyes, enjoy the beauty with your eyes, the look seems condensed, containing in its worship, so there is a saying:

- Looking satisfied.

Because the eyes are the windows of the soul, so:

- There are times when you are dreamy and absent-minded, there are times when you let your mind go wild, there are times when you are sad and restless, there are times when you dream about overcoming barriers, there are times when you are restless and worried. But sometimes happiness overflows. All such phenomena will make it easier for the other person to discover the secrets hidden here and there in one's soul. And from there, when you look at someone's eyes, you will see:

- The eyes of those who love and remember, the eyes of fear and insecurity, the eyes filled with sadness, joy,

- Eyes that look at life with a rosy color filled with happiness, or filled with painful consequences,

It all depends on your vision, your emotions, the ups and downs of insecurity, or the peace that spreads in each of your minds.

Because the eyes are the windows of the soul when your eyes are open you can see the outside world, so of course the subject can also see some part of your inside if you don't know how to cover it up, if you don't know how to cover it up, you are not skillful in disguise. Eyes that know how to talk, laugh, know how to be sad, know how to be happy, know how to remember and love, when there is good news, there will be a flash of hope.

There are times when you dream, there are times when you miss your love to the point of excess, your eyes will shed tears of pain, your sparkling, dreamy, wet eyes look far away at the old place, and then:

- Sad eyes also shed tears

- Happy eyes also shed tears.

Especially when you are angry, your eyes will turn purple. With such anger, the eyes will turn red as if wanting to devour the other person. If you let your uncontrolled nature and emotions constantly surface, it will hurt your eyes and make you very miserable. But when the soul is peaceful and filled with joy, the eyes will become gentle and cute, creating peace of mind and sympathy, and bringing peaceful energy to the other person.

The change in your soul can be seen through your eyes, revealed for everyone to see, and difficult to hide. From the outside to the inside, the sights and people make the eyes express more emotional colors, the eyes see the mind arise, and your consciousness follows it.

In addition, the eyes are not only used to distinguish and identify, but they are also a river of imagination like the poet Tham Tam, the day he set out with his friends to go to the war zone against the French, his girlfriend took him on the road, but she didn't say a word but just waved goodbye, and her eyes silently shed tears, and the poet once said:

- Farewell you, I'm not taking you across the river

But why is the sound of the waves in my heart?

In a quiet moment somewhere left, the eyes are also the place where scenes and people are buried, gathering memories, the indelible marks of the days of giving and receiving, looking forward to the future. While loving and remembering, these eyes are tired of waiting for the loved one, suffering the consequences for the loved one, getting sick because of the loved one, and shedding tears are also these eyes.

The eyes are two doors, open to welcome the wind or closed tightly covered with dust and moss. Open to enjoy all the beautiful colors, or closed to hide harsh feelings, creating more pollution, tiring the eyes, and harming the mind. Is that door of the soul, that consciousness, that person still entangled with worries and ups and downs, counting, or is it wide open to reach higher without any hindrance?

Coming here, I would like to share with you, but also give you a warning. There was a Buddhist who complained that a monk came to Duoc Su Temple to attend the ceremony, and then hooked up with some Buddhists at the Temple, so even though he had returned to Vietnam, those Buddhists continued to donate and send money to him to build bridges and roads. He took advantage of the Buddhists' kindness but did unworthy things, so the whole group was very angry. This is the story of monks and nuns. I don't want to have an opinion, but to share it with you at the same time to avoid future mistakes. I would like to borrow the words of the Tibetan Dalai Lama to express his thoughts when he spoke with psychologist Dr. Jack Engler and psychology professor Jean Shinoda Bolen. I would like to quote the original translation as follows:

- Firstly, the fault belongs to the Buddhists: Because they foolishly considered the Monks as gods, and mistakenly thought that all the actions of the Monks were noble, so they showed excessive obedience and pampered the Monks, causing harm to the monks for damaged monks. The important thing is not to rush to take the Sangha too seriously when you don't know much yet. Because that is a very important connection. You have to wait a long time, sometimes five or ten years, or even longer, to observe that person's behavior, teaching style, and practice ability accurately. During that time you should only consider them as a good intellectual friend. You should not trust them at all.

If a Buddhist sees a teacher acting unworthy or unethical, you have the right to immediately criticize those actions. In the scriptures, Buddha taught very clearly:

- You should only study with teachers who have good qualifications. If anyone unworthy, says unethical things or acts wickedly, Buddhists must stay away immediately. As a Buddhist, you must know this. You should not let your eyes see the flashy styles on the outside, your ears should not be drawn to the path of sin.

As for the monks, the Dalai Lama also summarized it as follows:

- As for the Sangha, they must be responsible for their actions. If a monk or nun allows Buddhists to seduce him into an unjust path, he shows that he is still greedy, lacks internal strength, and lacks the personality of a practitioner. While preaching Buddhism and acting in the name of a practitioner, monks and nuns themselves commit mistakes that they often advise others to avoid, that is, they betray the work they are doing. What a shame.

So when the eyes look and then the mind immediately arises, because your mind gives rise to discriminating, calculating, and comparing, the mind accumulates mental impurities, so is it your mind or is it the eyes?

And if the eyes only do one thing: seeing, capturing that moment, that moment of existence, seeing the road, seeing the path, seeing the scene, seeing people, then are the eyes still eyes?

Looking and seeing are normal functions of the eyes, but how to look and how to see is a matter of your mind. Looking one way, seeing a distorted view, a comparative look, looking outside or looking inside. If you see the outside but don't see the inside, you often see other people's mistakes and can't see your own. Thus, with clear eyes and a sharp mind, you must see every movement and harmful barrier. Whether outside or inside, you must clearly show and fully see the changes of dharmas, the floating back and forth of the mind, and see and live completely in the joy and freedom of each moment and go.

In meditation, there is the eye of wisdom, which is a clear and clear eye that goes beyond attachments, never lingering, never holding back, not sinking in the scene, not lingering in the mind, clearing away confusion.

Look without attachment, see without lingering, without arising. But seeing is simply seeing, seeing as if not seeing, seeing clearly and truly, seeing the complete and ultimate nature of all dharmas, that seeing is true. Eyes with a realistic look, a simple and sincere look, a beautiful timeless look, a comprehensive look, a compassionate look that escapes other people, me, this, that. The view of freedom goes beyond all separations and all dualistic categories of knowledge. The empty, peaceful look inside reveals itself to the outside, warming the hearts of others. The view is no longer born or destroyed, is not constrained or forced, the nature of seeing is fully revealed, the view of right view. With such a view, life will be forever happy.

You live in a modern environment, with countless means, so there are also too many temptations constantly lurking. In just a split second, if you don't control it well, you can let your mind wander and take your eyes off your mind, leading you to dreams, excitement, real and virtual that are difficult to separate, and then you are deceived and poisoned damages the eyes and infects the mind.

The Internet, a global information network that brings people together, is very convenient, but at the same time, it is also full of pitfalls and risks. The world you are often told is virtual, but it has the power of temptation, a captivating charm, with thousands of sparkling colors, with many seductive tactics that constantly attract impact. It makes you lose direction, run after being immersed, then keep your head down, and nose down, blurry eyes, tired hands, wasting energy and time constantly jumping into it, getting involved in living in those illusions.

You think it's virtual because you can't see its face, but when you use it, it appears. Virtuality can also be real, no matter what you call it, you have to admit one thing, more or less it participates in your life. Every time you use it, it is immediately associated with your thoughts and actions, meaning you create karma, giving karmic results. Unless you don't care about it and don't use it, it won't create karma.

In that virtual world, you can easily disguise yourself, hide your face, change your name, freely speak indiscriminately, freely condemn, freely accuse, and stab other people in the eyes and hearts, but you are indifferent and do not need responsibility for your actions is yours. That's talking about people who don't know how to practice and don't know cause and effect. But if you are a Buddhist who knows how to practice, you must know clearly that everyone who does it will suffer, everyone creates what they deserve, whatever you do, you will suffer, if you don't do it, you won't be able to bear it. The law of cause and effect will follow you like a shadow without leaving anyone behind.

Even though you're looking for a little fun to forget your sadness, kill time, forget the months and days of rain and shine, if you're not smart, you'll get involved and get stuck forever, not being able to let go. So, other people's stories, your stories, your confidences, the feelings of others, compete with each other to bloom, compete with each other, lose your way, let your soul entwine tightly in your heart, whether you close your eyes or open your eyes always linger.

So is it because of them or because of you? Is it someone's fault or your fault?

Every time you pick up your phone, every time you text, every time your fingers tap on the keyboard, countless things just flood into your head and brain. Many times it's none of your business, it's a big deal, but why are there so many mixed feelings, gossip, and troubles in your mind that keep calling day and night? Stories in the alley, stories in the house, stories at the beginning of the village, stories at the end of the village. Things from the past, and things from now, compete with each other to linger, making your mind always stressed like it's about to explode...,

In the end, your head is tired, your mind is listless, you are always busy and busy, day after day, night after night, you forever hold your worries in your heart, bury them in your heart, covered in each breath, difficult can escape. Wander around and around, then you live in it, just drifting like that becomes your habit, your way of life without even realizing it.

Is it because you can't control yourself, don't recognize the true nature of each problem, overuse it, and then fall into delusion, making your body and mind tired, bored, and afflicted? predestined to jump in and cause trouble?

The internet is just a means, so when used, there are always good and bad sides, advantages and disadvantages. What is important is that the person using that means knows how to be smart and responsible in choosing carefully and knows how to stop at the right time. This will not make your eyes or mind tired, drain your energy, and cause more problems entanglement, creating more karma. If you use it honestly, following the Dharma, and for the right purpose, you will learn more understanding, which will be helpful for your practice and entertainment in moderation, and then it will bring essential value. Most importantly, you must constantly control and be alert in every situation, recognize the source of each problem, and not let it drag you away forever without seeing where the shore is.

The things you think are real may not be real, the imaginary things you mistakenly think are real, and the things you think are reasonable may be unreasonable. The boundary between reasonable and unreasonable, good and bad, real and virtual is also very fragile. It all depends on whether you have the right view of the dharma, and whether you have wisdom or not. If you do not know how to observe clearly, it will be difficult to recognize the truth. It is present everywhere, virtual people, virtual minds, and virtual scenes, making it difficult for you to recognize, so you keep following and rushing forward. Meanwhile, the real thing is far away, somewhere far away, sometimes it's so close yet so far away that you're out of breath chasing it. If you make an effort to seek, sit quietly, and look far ahead, you will realize that what is virtual is virtual, what is real is real, what is virtual, what is real. In the virtual there is reality, in the real there is virtuality. That is also progress in cultivating your mind and nature, at least you can discover where the karma you created leads you.

The eyes of nearly a thousand years ago and the eyes of today are also very different. The eyes are now cunning thanks to modernity, there are thousands of sceneries, pink, and purple, easily making you blind, and polluting your mind.

As an honest person, you must always ask questions. Do you love and appreciate your eyes?

If you love and appreciate these eyes, you should find a way to let them rest, close your eyes, and sit quietly, to see each peaceful breath circulating. Don't force, don't lie, don't let your eyes see things that they don't want to see. You don't abuse it and make it teary or miserable, nor do you make it dry and indifferent. As a practitioner, use your eyes to look at suffering and injustice to generate compassion. Seeing the cycle of birth and death leads to a desire for liberation, realizing that life is impermanent, that the human condition is fragile, and early in life, in the evening it disappears. Seeing those things, being fully aware of that is to serve as luggage and material to sublimate life and rise to find a way to live, a true change. Practice and perfect your way of life to make it perfect and complete, to cleanse your mind and worries, and to keep your mind and body always bright. Only then will those eyes and that look of yours become valuable, bringing light and wisdom to yourself and others.

In short, you have seen the extremely harmful consequences caused by false thoughts, which are the source of all karma to tie you to the sea of suffering of samsara. Therefore, you must wisely use wisdom to dispel all delusions and ignorance to bring peace and purity to your mind.

Furthermore, the cool water of compassion will extinguish the fire of troubles. Patience is a strong armor against all three poisoned arrows. Buddhism is the light that dispels the darkness and fog. With these thoughts, you are determined to eliminate all desires to increase your strength, defeat the harsh wheel of samsara, and find the place of Bliss. Therefore, when the eyes know how to practice, and those who know how to practice the eyes, can they see the value, and it is a truly necessary practice. Look but don't make distinctions, don't run after illusory scenes, causing you to lose your sight, lose your mind, and tire your mind. Instead of being absorbed, drawn in, and dependent on external views, you turn to look straight inside, contemplate the depths of your heart, and see all the excitement, impacts, and movements in your mind, pure, clear, ultimately, allowing your enlightened nature to awaken. You try to focus your attention on one point of reality. You must be wise and constantly awake, applying wisdom in all thoughts and actions. Wisdom arises because you put effort into practicing, eliminating afflictions, and purifying ignorance. Once you see the true nature of all dharmas, it is time to restore their true value, at that time there is nothing left, and nothing can bind or hold you back.

Remember, when you want to look beautiful, dress up, please beauty, and chase after beauty, for yourself and others to admire and praise, the consequences will cause you pain in body and mind. Only with compassionate eyes, a mind that thinks well, does good, and benefits oneself and others, beauty comes from the heart, beauty that is honored beyond time, perfect beauty that does not change, the beauty of true dharma.

Because of understanding like that, even though you have been living and still live in a temporary illusion. But if your mind doesn't cling, don't get attached, and don't indulge in it, you will be overcoming the illusion to return to the pure mind that is fully available in each of you.

---o0o---