DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

---o0o---

As Buddhists, more or less everyone knows that the foundation of Buddhism is the theory of reincarnation and cause and effect, whose formation is Karma. Karma is no different from a chain, nor is it no different from an exceptionally strong lock, but with human strength, even beings higher than Heaven must endure this same law. In the six realms of samsara, there is no living being capable of opening that lock. Because no one can design or create a standard key to open it.

Buddha's teachings are no different from a subject taught to people, a profession that makes a key to open the lock of darkness that has locked all species from generation to generation.

In the tendency to teach people to release karma and untie the chains of reincarnation, when the World-Honored One was still alive, in the process of propagating the Dharma to benefit living beings, He sometimes encountered opposition from heretical wrong views. This is not just happening now, but since the time of the World-Honored One, there have been two types of people, even though there are slanders among those who practice and study. When the World-Honored One passed away, after more than 26 centuries of transmission, his teachings also encountered many criticisms from those with dissenting views. But that is a very normal thing in this world. Especially when you are far away from Buddha, the slander becomes even more severe. Even though no one does this intentionally, especially the monks, due to ignorance, ego, negligence,... many causes and conditions, they slander Tathagata.

Talking about defamation, that is, defaming the true Dharma spoken by the Buddha, mainly criticizing the Mahayana sutras, saying that the Mahayana sutras were not what Buddha said. For example, not believing in Mahayana sutras such as Prajnaparamita Sutra, Lotus Sutra, Infinite Life Sutra... Such people will destroy all their good roots and certainly fall into the great hell. According to the upper volume of the Infinite Life Sutra, Amitabha Buddha vowed to save sentient beings who recite the Buddha's name but could not save those who committed the Five Violations and slandered the Dharma. The Bodhisattva Good Precepts Sutra states that defaming the Dharma is one of the eight heaviest crimes. According to the Brahmajala or Net Sutra, defamation of the Three Jewels is one of the ten heaviest sins committed by Bodhisattvas. In general, defamation of the True Dharma is of two types:

1- Do not believe in the Three Jewels, do not believe in Buddha's teachings, analyze Buddha's teachings according to your wishes to distort and denigrate the Dharma.

2- Do not believe that the Mahayana sutras were spoken by the Buddha himself, and make negative comments about them. Or if you see people reciting, copying, and practicing Mahayana sutras, you will feel contempt, jealousy, etc.

Defamation is the unwholesome thing among the unwholesome things. Devadatta slandered the Buddha, and before he died, he fell into Avici hell. Assutava-bhikkhu slandered True Dharma, he was still alive and fell into hell. Virudhaka killed the monks and nuns, but although he did not die, he fell into the fiery pit.

Discussing the severity of defamation, such as seeing a real person violating Buddha's precepts, or doing things contrary to cause and effect, seeing and then seeing again, hearing and hearing again, many times seeing and hearing without any mistake, but if you stay silent and don't speak or criticize, it's not your fault. If the crime of defamation does not lead to hell, it is still a crime of disrupting the harmony of the Sangha. This crime is lighter than the crime of falling into Avici Hell. But if you defame a person that person has without any fault, then you who defame them will fall into hell.

So, when talking about other people's faults, you must see them with your own eyes and ears, then you won't be at fault. If you only hear about other people's gossip and talk about other people's faults, that means committing the crime of slander and bringing guilt to yourself. In general, just one compliment, no matter what, is a blessing. Whenever you slander someone, in the end, the slanderer will be guilty. Buddha predicted the syndrome of bacteria on the lion's body eating the Lion's flesh a long time ago. Because no animal can knock down a lion except the bacteria inside the lion's body. Likewise, no matter how much outsiders slander the Buddha, they still have nothing to do with the Dharma. But the Buddha's disciples have the potential to defame Him by misinterpreting the Dharma, and can seriously damage the Dharma.

That's why, when the World-Honored One was still alive, many times He called Bhikkhus who preached the Dharma incorrectly and severely reprimanded them. Fortunately, He was there to make timely adjustments, and then everything was in order. Today, Buddhism is present everywhere in the world, divided into two major traditions: Northern and Southern sects.

In Vietnam, Buddhism seems to converge, including all major traditions, religions, and sects. The good fortune for the country's Dharma is that despite converging many sources, it still maintains unity and harmony.

But recently, there has been a worrying social media phenomenon taking place in the Dharma propagation industry, that is, some preachers preach Buddhism with personal opinions such as denying hell and the pure land, denying prayer, and denying belief in the Three Jewels. Especially some monks believe that the Mahayana Sutras were not spoken by Buddha, and then some lay Buddhists also imitate and say the same, causing some people new to learning Buddhism to be confused.

Link to teachings:

- Wrong dharma is said to be correct dharma. The right dharma is said to be the wrong dharma.

That is a form of defamation of Buddha. As a Buddhist, you must carefully consider whether they are preachers of the Dharma or people who are contributing to the destruction of Buddhism.

Everyone currently praises Buddhism, but there are still profound areas that Buddhist students need to learn more about. Besides, some forces blindly slander, making those who are not yet firm in their faith unable to feel secure in studying the religion.

Discussing karma, according to Tang Hsuan-Tsang in the book The Record of Western Countries, it is recorded:

- While he was in India collecting sutras, he discovered that in the Jetavana garden outside the temple, three holes were so wide and deep that the bottom could not be seen. Heavy rain poured down, and all the canals and ponds were filled with water, but in those deep holes, the water flowed down continuously. He then asked the people there and heard a legendary story about three evil people who committed the crime of slandering Buddha and had to be banished to the Unbroken Hell.

Cinca is the cruelest Brahmin priestess. Buddha Shakyamuni was on the path of propagating the Dharma to benefit lives. Because what he taught was the True Dharma, more and more good men and women followed and listened to the Dharma teachings. On the contrary, although Brahmanism has existed for a long time in Indian society and has great power, because it has been completely corrupted, there are fewer and fewer followers. That's why the Brahmans hated the Buddha very much. Cinca was one of the Brahmans who hated the Buddha. Determined to sabotage the Buddha, one day from afar, Cinca saw a crowd of people surrounding the Buddha listening to the Dharma lecture, their attitude extremely respectful. She said to herself:

- Today I must insult Gautama, tarnish his honor, and let Brahmanism become the sole leader!

Thinking like that, she stuffed a large bowl of rice in her stomach, went to Jetavana garden, and loudly declared in the middle of a crowd of people:

- This person who is teaching the Dharma has had an affair with me! The child in my womb is Gautama's child!

Cinca's lies have great charm. People who lack faith no longer believe and no longer want to listen to the Dharma. Some people whispered loudly, some shook their heads and sighed, some chimed in, some stood up and left. But those who have steadfast faith know that it is all baseless slander, so they continue to sit and listen to the Buddha preach the Dharma.

To eliminate people's doubts about the Dharma, the Angel turned into a white mouse and bit off the string tying the rice bowl. The rope suddenly broke, and the wooden rice bowl fell to the ground from Cinca's body, a shocking sound shocked everyone around, and the truth was exposed before everyone's eyes. At that moment, the people suddenly woke up and were overjoyed. One person stood up, picked up the wooden bowl, put it in front of Cinca, smiled, and said:

- Is this your child?

          Suddenly, at that moment, the ground cracked open, and the people following Cinca were all swept in, falling straight into the Unbroken Hell. In this endless hell, criminals are punished endlessly, their sins are repaid with extreme suffering, and in that cycle of destruction, there will never be any chance of reincarnation.

1- Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly

          Once the Buddha was staying in Anathapindika Garden, Savatthi country. At that time, Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly came to the Buddha, bowed his head, and said to him:

- Dear World Honored One, the two Bhikkhus Sariputra and Maudgalyayana created evil deeds and did evil deeds.

The Buddha heard it and told Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly:

- Don't say that. Please develop a happy mind towards Tathagata, Bhikkhu Sariputta, and Maudgalyayana who do purely good deeds, without evil.

Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly said the same thing a second time and the Buddha also replied the same way. The third time Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly told the Buddha:

- Tathagata speaks the truth, there is no falsehood, but Bhikkhu Sariputta and Maudgalyayana's actions are very evil, without good roots.

Buddha said:

- You are a foolish person, not believing the Tathagata's words and saying that Bhikkhu Sariputta and Maudgalyayana's actions were very evil and had no good roots. Now that you create this evil speech, it won't be long before you will suffer retribution.

          At that time, Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly bowed his head to the Buddha and then left. Not long after, pimples appeared on Cu Ba Ly's body, first as small as a mustard seed, then gradually growing to the size of a pea, or corn kernel, then gradually growing to the size of a finger and big toe, to the size of a peach, or the size of a fist. Blood and pus flowed out, painful and miserable moans:

- So hot, so hot! wailed in pain until he died!

          That night, two Gods came to the Buddha and bowed their heads to pay respects to the Buddha. Then the first one said:

- Cu Ba Ly is dead.

          The second said:

- Cu Ba ly died and went to hell.

          The Venerable Maudgalyayana heard this incident and heard that Cu Ba Ly had passed away not long ago. He immediately went to the Buddha, bowed, and said:

- World-Honored One, where did Cu Ba Ly die and then be born?

Buddha said:

- That person was born in the Lotus hell

          Venerable Maudgalyayana said:

- Now I want to go there to educate Cu Ba Ly.

          Buddha said:

- You don't need to go there.

          Venerable Maudgalyayana again said:

- I want to go there and educate him.

Buddha remained silent and did not respond. The Venerable Maudgalyayana immediately disappeared from his seat, from Anathapindika Garden, Savatthi Country to the great Lotus hell. At that moment, the Venerable saw a sinner being burned by fire, and there were hundreds of buffaloes plowing on the sinner's tongue. Venerable Maudgalyayana asked the ghost guarding the prison and learned that it was Cu Ba Ly.

The Venerable Maudgalyayana sat cross-legged in the void and snapped his fingers to make the fire go out, the buffalo stopped and Cu Ba Ly woke up. Venerable Maudgalyayana said:

- Look here, Cu Ba Ly.

          Cu Ba Ly looked up and asked:

- Who are you?

Venerable Maudgalyayana replied:

- Cu Ba Ly, I am a disciple of Shakyamuni Buddha, named Maudgalyayana.

At that time, Cu Ba Ly saw the Venerable Maudgalyayana and immediately uttered evil words:

- Now I'm suffering from this suffering and can't escape it, don't you see?

          As soon as Cu Ba Ly finished speaking, the fire flared up again, and there were thousands of buffaloes plowing on his tongue. Seeing this, the Venerable became more sad and regretful. He immediately disappeared from that hell and returned to the Buddha. After bowing, he reported that cause and condition to the Buddha. Buddha said:

- I said before, there's no need to go see that person.

Then the Buddha spoke verses:

- People born in this world,

Hammer and ax from the mouth,

Come back and cut yourself,

Due to evil words.

Worthy of criticism is changed to praise,

Worth praising is changed to criticizing,

That sin is born from the mouth,

Die and fall into hell.

Having finished speaking the verse, the Buddha told the seven groups:

- Learn the three dharmas to achieve your virtue. That is: The body does good, the mouth speaks well, and thoughts are good

Through the short sutta above, I talk about the story of Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly defaming the Venerable Sariputta and Maudgalyayana. The Buddha said it was not like that, but Cu Ba Ly repeated it three times. Finally, the Buddha told Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly that he was foolish and did not believe the Buddha's words, and insisted that the two Bhikkhus Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were doing very evil things, without good roots. Then the Buddha predicted:

- Now that you have created an evil mouth, you will soon suffer retribution.

As soon as the Buddha finished speaking, if Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly understood what the Buddha said and asked to repent, the karma may have reduced or disappeared, but because he was ignorant, he remained silent, just bowed, and then left.

One point to note is that Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly did not clearly state what evil deed the two Bhikkhus Sariputta and Maudgalyayana did, but only said:

- The deed is very evil and has no good roots

Mean:

- Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly did not specifically mention the evil deeds.

The reason Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly said so is because Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly belongs to the Devadatta group. This group specializes in dividing the Sangha, plotting to harm the Buddha, and colluding with each other to take advantage of King Ajatasatru's wealth. There was a time when Venerable Sariputta came to warn him, and another time Venerable Sariputta and Venerable Maudgalyayana came to Devadatta's place and took several Bhikkhus from Devadatta's faction into the air and disappeared.

According to the Buddhist point of view, if a sinner knows how to repent, every sin will be destroyed and blessings will be born. In the case of Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly, he had a hateful mind because he was confused and stubborn about his views, so even if he was sick and miserable to the point of death, he could not awaken to his mistakes. Suppose Bhikkhu Cu Ba Ly, while suffering from severe ulcers, woke up and repented of his sins, it would still be possible to save him.

2-  Sramanera Kun-Ti

At that time, in the country of Ba La Nai, there was a very wealthy Prime Minister. When he was 80 years old, he gave birth to a baby boy, very handsome and named Kun-Ti. His parents loved and took full care of him. When Kun-Ti was 10 years old, his parents went to Buddha Shakyamuni at Mount Grdhrakuta in Majiet. When meeting the Buddha, after bowing, the Kun-Ti's Father said:

- Please let Kun-Ti follow you to practice because I will only give birth to a son when I am old. I respectfully hope that you will allow Kun-Ti to enter the religion.

Buddha said:

- Good, good Novice!

As soon as the Buddha finished speaking, Kun-Ti's hair suddenly fell out. The Buddha told Venerable Ananda, his attendant, to give Kun-Ti his robe to wear immediately. Then he spoke the Dharma to Kun-Ti and showed him the teachings and novice Kun-Ti became happy, immediately attained enlightenment, and was immediately liberated.

At that time, everyone was surprised and wondering, Venerable Ananda immediately stood up, worshiped the Buddha, and said:

- World-Honored One, what meritorious deeds did novice Kun-Ti do in the past that now, not long after meeting the World-Honored One, he has already attained the fruition? Why so quickly?

 Buddha said:

- Novice Kun-Ti did not just practice today, but today's results are due to having made offerings to his parents and the Sangha in his past life, and having practiced the merits for a long time already.

 Then Buddha continued:

- In the distant past, after Vipassi-buddha (91 lifetimes ago = about 6.5 billion years ago) passed away, during the Dharma rectification period, there was a young Bhikkhu who understood the Three Pitakas: Abhidhamma, Vinaya or Uparaksa, Sutra. This Bhikkhu has a beautiful appearance, clear voice, intelligence, and talent, so everyone from the King, and Mandarins to the people knows and praises him.

At that time, there was an old Bhikkhu with an ugly face and a bad voice, but he often chanted Sutras. One day, the young monk Tripitaka accidentally heard the old monk chanting sutras that were not pleasing to his ears. He immediately felt blasphemous and said:

- The sound of chanting Sutras like that is like the sound of a dog barking.

The old monk heard this and said:

- Why do you slander me like that? Do you know me?

The young monk said:

- I know you, you are the old Bhikkhu Ma Ha-La during the Dharma period of Vipassi-buddha, why don't I know?

Bhikkhu Ma Ha La said:

- I have now completed my work, the moral discipline has been established, and there will be no more birth and death in the next life.

The young monk heard this and became afraid. The old monk immediately stretched out his right arm and released a bright light throughout. The young monk immediately prostrated himself and prayed for repentance, saying:

- I am a foolish person who does not know how to distinguish between the sages and the saints. I pray that in my next life, I will be able to meet the Holy Master and be free of all afflictions as well as you.

That young Bhikkhu Tripitaka, because of an evil word that defamed the Saint, later became a Dog for 500 lives. At that time, everyone in the assembly heard the Buddha say that and was horrified, not expecting such evil and harmful words; At that time, everyone thought to themselves and volunteered to never dare to use cruel words to slander the Saints and Good People.

 Buddha continued:

- Ten years ago, between the two countries of Magadha and Savatthi, a trading group passed by, and the merchant's owner was carrying a dog. At dusk that night, the merchant's friend cooked meat for food for the next day. At night, the dog accidentally ate it and spilled it all. The next morning, when he was about to take out the food to eat, they realized the dog had eaten it all and spilled it everywhere! He was hungry and thirsty, so they became angry, immediately took a knife and cut off the dog's four legs, then threw it into the hole and left. The dog was in the pit writhing in pain and moaning very pitifully.

At that time, Bhikkhu Sariputta saw such a thing during the night using the Divine Eye. The next day, after finishing begging, Bhikkhu Sariputta immediately went to the dog, brought him food to eat, and then spoke Dharma teachings. After death, that dog is released from the life of a dog for 500 lives, to be a human. That dog is now this novice monk.

Because of his words of slandering the Saints and Sages, he had to fall into the evil path, but because he repented and made a vow, he met the holy man, Bhikkhu Sariputta, who escaped the life of a Dog and became a Human, and now he can meet Me and liberated so quickly.

You see there is a point that needs to be raised, that is when Kun-Ti's father came to ask the Buddha to accept Kun-Ti's permission to follow Buddhism, he immediately happily accepted, and the Buddha said:

Good, good Novice.

At that moment, Kun-Ti's hair fell out. This was a strange, unbelievable thing because it was contrary to science. If you believe it, science cannot explain it. There are also many things that science cannot explain, such as the Three Insights, Five Eyes, and Six Insights of those who have attained enlightenment, which cannot be proven by science.

Through the two stories in the two sutra passages mentioned, you see that slandering the Saints and Sages indeed requires careful attention and precautions, because of such evil words, one must suffer such an extremely serious crime. Therefore, you should not take words lightly but must be very careful in speaking properly. That's why Patriarch An Quang teaches you to stick the word Death on your forehead, every time you think you're about to die, that means reminding yourself to always let go of your body, mind, and world. At the same time, develop a Bodhi mind, single-mindedly meditate, or advise and encourage everyone to know:

- Consider today as your last day on this earth, today is your last day, and what should be done, and what should not be done, that is a very clear and transparent way to live.

What you should do is develop your mind to recite Buddha's name, but praying to Buddha for guidance and other things is less important. In the minor stories:

- First, help predestined sentient beings, advise them to develop the mind to recite Buddha's name,

- You go back to the Pure Land first! Going to the Pure Land, after achieving it, it will not be too late to return!

In short, the crime of defamation is very serious. If you defame ordinary people, you will fall into hell, let alone defame a saintly monk or Arhat. An Arhat is a person who has eliminated all defilements and is called an Arhat. The crime of defaming Arhats and directly or indirectly destroying Buddhism is very serious. You will lose the seed of liberation, and you will have to fall into hell forever, that is, your body will always suffer from illness and suffering, never-ending. So looking at the facts, when you don't understand the end of the story, you should not speak indiscriminately and bring bad karma. Especially if you don't know, don't assume you know. If you're not good yet, don't consider yourself good. If you have not yet attained Arhatship, you should not discuss or talk about Arhatship, because your finite human wisdom cannot understand the Holy Monks and Arhat disciples of the Buddha. Therefore, do not use your ordinary wisdom to discuss the Holy Fruition, or you will make a big mistake. The proverb of our Ancestors teaches:

- If you know, say it out loud. If you don't know, then lean on the pillar and listen.

As a student of Buddhism, you need to understand reason and understand civilized manners. At least you can't arbitrarily scold others or beat others. If not, then you do not have the virtue of a Buddhist and are not worthy of being a Buddhist disciple. Currently, in a free society, internet media is widely circulated. You should not take advantage of this means to condemn anyone. If you want to scold anyone, feel free to scold them. If you want to slander Buddha Dharma, slandering it arbitrarily is very dangerous. What I say is dangerous here is not just because you have committed a great sin, and lost your moral behavior and personality as a human being, but the danger I want to say is that the Law of Cause and Effect will not be mistaken and will never forgive anyone. Therefore, in the present, if you have made a slanderous mistake, if you do not quickly repent, then in your future life you will not know where to go.

---o0o---