DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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Human life is always influenced by external circumstances, some things are favorable for you, and many things are against you. So how can you control the external environment to only be favorable for you? This requires you to have a way of behaving. Even in relationships between people, some people like you, some people don't like you. If you have to conform and be influenced by gossip, you are no longer who you are. As you know, there are many life values and they change with time, circumstances, and class... But no matter how they change, some values still exist, collectively known as:

- Goodness,

- Kindness,

- Human love

- Self-esteem

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, among the things that exist, I value the most is self-esteem. I am most afraid, even most disgusted, of those who do not know self-respect, kneel, bow down to flattery, and worse yet, misrepresent their fellow human beings for profit. Until now, I see that I have never worked hard for myself or anyone, and then when I calm down and think back, I feel regretful that I have lost my self-esteem. If you don't respect yourself, you don't expect anyone to respect you. If you have self-respect, then you will know how to respect others. Because of not having self-respect, many people from ancient times until now have:

- Running for position, running for power, running for crimes, running for qualifications, even running for the pity of others...

Knowing that you should accept the world, adapt to it, and find a way to survive. Even sneaking around to exploit every opportunity, even the smallest, to respond to every challenge, even the worst.

Just think that you now live in an American society that is much better than anywhere else. A country without war, with social health insurance, a society that has integrated into the global human community. Before and after, I still believe that no matter what, the good, the right, and the truth will prevail, no one denies this. So if each of you is not strong enough to do something for the human community, then try not to do anything vile, and just live kindly.

And remember, the external influences of life are called the Eight Winds. Eight Winds includes four blessings and four misfortunes as follows:

- One is prosperity: Profit and decline, ruin.

- Second is defamation: Defamation of honor and good reputation.

- Third is praise: Praise and criticism.

- Four are afflictions: Suffering and peace and happiness.

Those are the eight ordinary winds of the world, always blowing, one wind after another. Sometimes the wind blows softly, gently, and coolly. Sometimes the wind blows fiercely, horribly, cruelly, like a thunderstorm.

In this world, in a life full of hustle and bustle, struggle, and hardship to survive, people often complain:

- So miserable, so miserable and so miserable!

People, whether civilians or officials, whether white, black, or colored. Whether you are an owner or a worker, whether you are a commoner or an educated person. Whether old, young, male, or female, regardless of religion, everyone recognizes that:

- This life has many sufferings and few joys.

Because human life always has ups and downs, from the moment one opens one's eyes to be born until the moment one closes one's eyes and leaves this miserable Saha world. Everyone in the world, everyone has to face the ups and downs of life, no one can avoid it. So in the book, there is a sentence:

- Two blessings do not come simultaneously, but one time can bring two disasters.

Mean:

- In this world, lucky things, also known as blessings, usually don't happen twice. On the contrary, disasters, unfortunate events, unforeseen events, and unsatisfactory events, often called bad luck, come continuously, and endlessly.

As soon as one thing was over, another thing happened. Maybe before this story ends, many other things will come up. Many times things like this happen all the time, making you dark, dizzy, and unable to react in time. For those who are mentally weak, praying for peace, confused, and afraid. The ups and downs of life will drown them in a sea of suffering, filled with tears, full of cries. On the contrary, for those who are mentally strong, courageous, understand morality, and truly practice. The ups and downs of life are challenges and training to improve their inner life more and more. Their willpower becomes stronger and stronger day by day, courageously progressing on their path of study. Enlightenment and liberation will certainly come to such people one day soon. The benefit of learning about morality, truly cultivating it, is exactly this.

In life, there are always things that bother you at any time. So the more you pay attention to them, the more awkward and annoyed you become. So you should try to light a candle rather than sit and curse the darkness. It doesn't matter how big or small the candle is, what matters is whether you put in the effort or not. You may not be able to escape hardship and adversity, but you can maintain serenity in the face of all uncertainties. Here are some principles so you can live a peaceful life:

1- Calm your mind and think:

When you are angry or hate others, you will feel insecure and may act wrongly. However, when someone hates you, it is difficult for your heart to be at peace. So please calm down and consider whether you have unintentionally offended anyone. If necessary, don't hesitate to apologize. Peace of mind is most necessary for life. You may be poor, but your heart must be at peace.

2- Look back on the day

Every day, especially before going to bed, you should spend 10 to 15 minutes concentrating, to help calm your soul so you can look back and continue to do what you did well during the day. And what is not good must stop and not continue. Try to eliminate all distractions and worries to keep your heart at peace, so you can sleep well. When the body is healthy, the soul can be at ease and enjoy life.

3- Self-movement.

One quote confirms:

- Help yourself and Supernatural will help you.

Everyone knows that exercise is not only good for a healthy body, disease prevention, and treatment but also good for the spirit, because:

- A clear mind in a healthy body.

A weak body cannot contain a healthy soul. Remember, medicine is only a reluctant therapy, not equal to natural therapy. Exercise and healthy eating are natural remedies. Don't stay up late, but get up early. Then exercise, breathe fresh air, do acupressure, and move to get good blood circulation. You should avoid consuming alcohol, tobacco, and fatty foods. You certainly won't need... a doctor!

4- Zoom your vision forward

Life is always more difficult than you think. As simple as a piece of paper, there are two sides, let alone other situations in life. Don't be pessimistic to the point of fear of failure, but don't be too subjective to the point of being arrogant. Whatever you do, you should give two positive and negative situations. If things go smoothly, that's great, you will easily reap favorable results and enjoy happiness. But if something goes wrong, you can still be at peace because you have mentally prepared yourself not to despair, even if you may be slightly disappointed. Everything is relative, if you can't change the situation, don't torment yourself. Life should be measured by depth, not length.

5- Continuous effort.

Ordinary people say:

- A person who lives comfortably, and often does dishonest things.

So, the great Napoleon of France had to exclaim:

- Defeating an army is easier than defeating yourself.

If you let your brain work more and make more and more efforts, it will create more and richer connections. Besides, thanks to continuous effort, you succeed. Successful and famous people in the world in all fields have struggled many times before achieving remarkable achievements. Geniuses also have people who were criticized for having below-average IQs or were expelled from third grade. But by seeing this, many of you have to try harder, and not allow yourself to be satisfied and stop.

Life is very simple, but you tend to complicate things. If you have a progressive spirit, the failures of the past will help you become more mature, helping you build a good future. But don't let the past become fear. Don't take the troubles you've been through to heart. Success is not where you stand, but success is how much you have learned and how far you have gone.

Determine what is most essential, so you can eliminate all the things that don't deserve your attention. You should not waste your time on useless things and then regret it. You get the best from people when you give the best of yourself, in every situation. Whoever wants to be like that, follow this golden rule:

- If you want someone to love you, you need to love them first.

If you want to make friends, be friendly. That is true, is that simple. Stop doing things that go against your conscience just because you have power. Be honest with yourself and others, don't lie. Be kind, and do the right things in the simplest way to live. Be satisfied with every opportunity you have, and accept the fact that this life is not perfect. People are not perfect and neither are you, everyone is not perfect.

To have a peaceful life, you should not make friends with negative people. Make friends with people who make you proud every time you talk about them. People you admire, people who love and respect you, people who make every day a little bit brighter. Don't be close to negative people:

- Run away from them.

This life is too short, it's a waste to care about people who take away all your joy. Because, in today's busy life, it is difficult to have moments of gentle relaxation. Even when you have free time, the pace of daily life makes these precious moments associated with noise, stuffiness, and haste.

Modern society has turned people into true machines. Part of what makes life so busy is human greed. You want too many things and the things you want overwhelm you. Surely you cannot enjoy the results of your labor comfortably if you try to do too many things. Know how to accept and ignore goals that are not important to you to focus on more necessary things in life.

In short, a life filled with conflicts with others certainly cannot give you a feeling of peace and serenity. Therefore, to help yourself, you need to learn to be patient and ignore other people's mistakes. If there are already conflicts in your life, try to resolve these conflicts and forgive.

Finally, helping those around you not only makes life around you better but also makes you a little proud of yourself. Helping others is helping yourself achieve a more comfortable life.

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