DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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Praying means invoking a supreme deity, or invoking someone to give you a certain favor...

Wishing means wishing for something...,

In general, prayer is a common tradition of all religions in the world, including Buddhism. However, in this article, the topic says there is a wish but no prayer, so where does this meaning lead you?

According to this article, having a wish without asking, or to put it more simply, having a wish without asking for anything from anyone.

Indeed, in the Buddhist tradition, there are ceremonies to pray for peace for those who are still alive to recover from sickness, for peace. Pray for those who have passed away to not fall into the hell realms or fall into ghosts and animals, but to be promoted to a peaceful realm.

Because it is short to make it easier to call, and simple to understand, in Buddhism, it is called that, but to thoroughly understand the two words praying for peace and praying for rebirth in the spirit of the Buddha, as a Buddhist you must research until the end. First of all, remember Buddha's teachings, a teaching that is simple but has a very profound meaning:

- Whatever you plant, you will reap

Does that mean:

- If you do evil, you will receive bad results, while if you do good, you will receive blessings.

Someone asked:

- If in this life someone does a lot of bad things, then that person is sick, and then the family holds the Praying for Peace ceremony, will that person be at peace? Or if that person has unfortunately passed away and the family organizes a funeral ceremony, will that person be able to pass on? And if that person is at peace, or that person is liberated, is that contrary to the meaning of the sentence:

- Do you reap what you plant?

As a Buddhist, you must understand thoroughly, apply it yourself, and then guide those who do not know and want to know for the benefit. Please confirm that there are two cases that do not contradict the sentence:

- Whatever you plant, you will reap.

First of all:

1- Praying for peace but not receiving peace, praying for liberation but not achieving liberation

There are many Buddhists who do not understand this. You think that if you have money, you can invite a monk or a nun to read a period of Sutras and that's it. Whether you are at peace or not, transcendent or not, it doesn't matter.

Actually, this prayer does not necessarily require monks and nuns to pray for liberation, but anyone who prays can attain salvation if that person has:

- Pure mind

- Pure precepts and

- Virtue of purity

If someone, relying on wealth and money then entrusts the monks and nuns to do whatever they want, or the homeowner kills pigs, chickens, and cows to entertain guests and friends, creating more injustice and karma for the sick person, or the person has passed away, the ill person certainly cannot be at peace, but the person who has passed away cannot liberation

2- If you pray for peace, you will receive peace, but if you pray for transcendence, you will receive transcendence.

Therefore, if you want to pray for peace, and if you want to pray for rebirth, your family, relatives, and friends must pray sincerely. In addition, the person who is in sickness or the spirit of the people who pass away must awaken as soon as possible and vow to cultivate good karma...

Once again, it is determined that the purpose of prayer is to create a dignified and pure ashram so that the homeowner can develop a good heart and pray single-mindedly for a loved one who is sick or has passed away, to dedicate merit to loved ones who are sick or have passed away. Next, the person who is suffering, or the spirit of the person who has passed away, develops a good mind to do good things or will do good things. Thanks to the rising of goodwill, karma will be dissipated or neutralized. At the same time, depending on the dedication of relatives and the person's own vow to do good, they will be peaceful or liberated. That is the spirit of self-control, the spirit of wishing to be free from illness, the wish to end suffering, the wish to be liberated, or in other words, the spirit of:

- Pray without asking.

This is a spirit that does wish but does not ask anyone to give you anything but only relies on your own wishes to practice. This spirit is reminded by the Buddha in Anguttara Nikaya II, chapter 5, chapter King Munda. The Sutta records:

- At one time the World-Honored One was staying at Sàvatthi, at Jetavana, Anà-thapindika's garden. Then householder Anathapindika went to pay homage. The World-Honored One said to householder Anathapindika who was sitting to the side: There are five dharmas capable of happiness and joy that are difficult to find in life. The five dharmas are:

- Longevity;

- Beauty;

- Peace;

- Good reputation;

- Born to heaven

Five things that are pleasant and joyful are hard to find in life. And these five things I declare are not obtained by asking, not by wishing. If these five dharmas were obtained through prayer and desire, then in this life there would be no suffering, withering, or misfortune. So that:

1- If you are considered a disciple of Buddha who wants to have a long life, that disciple should not expect anything from praying, no matter how sincere you are, you cannot pray or praise to have a long life. But Buddhist disciples who want to have longevity need to practice the path leading to longevity. If you want to practice the path of longevity, you must:

- Cultivate the cause of giving alms, releasing animals, doing good deeds...

Because you practice the path that leads to longevity, that practice leads you to receive lifespan, you receive lifespan either in the realm of Gods or in the realm of humans.

2- Being considered a disciple of Buddha, if you want to have a beautiful face, you should not expect to pray or praise a supreme deity to give you a beautiful face. But disciples of Buddha who want to have beautiful faces need to practice the path leading to beautiful faces. If you want to practice the path of having a good face, you must:

- Know how to speak loving words

- Behavior must be modest and dignified, and modesty must be gentle

Because you practice the path that leads to a beautiful face, that practice leads you to receive a beautiful face, you will receive the beautiful face of Gods or humans.

3- Being considered a disciple of Buddha wants to have peace, it is not possible to pray or praise a supreme god, or someone to give you peace. But disciples of Buddha who want to have peace need to practice the path leading to peace. If you want to practice the path of peace, you must know how to abstain:

- No stealing,

- No adultery

- Do not lie

- Don't drink alcohol...

Because you practice the path that leads to peace, that practice leads to you receiving peace, you receive peace in the realm of Gods, or the realm of humans.

4- Being considered a disciple of Buddha wants to have a good reputation. It is not possible to be granted a good reputation by praying or praising a supreme deity or someone. But Buddhist disciples who want to have a good reputation need to practice the path that leads to a good reputation. To practice the path that leads to a good reputation, the disciple must know:

- Have a tolerant and joyful heart

- Giving alms, making offerings

- Loving words...

Because you practice the path that leads to a good reputation, that practice leads you to receive a good reputation, you receive a good reputation in the realm of gods or humans.

5- Being considered a disciple of Buddha who wants to be reborn in heaven, cannot be reborn in heaven by praying or praising a god or someone. But disciples of Buddha who want to be born in heaven need to practice the path leading to heaven. To be born in Heaven, that disciple must know:

- Keep the five precepts

- Cultivate the ten virtues

- Practice the Eight Precepts...

Because you practice the path that leads to Heaven, that practice will bring you to Heaven.

Thus, living a long and healthy life, having a beautiful face, being happy and comfortable, having a good reputation far and wide, and after the end of this life, being reborn in the realms of the Buddhas or enjoying the blessings of heaven is the main wish of the people in this world. Everyone wishes like that, many of you often pray for grace from above to grant you something like that, but in reality, not everyone is satisfied. Because if you pray but don't act, your wish will never come true. If you want your wish to come true, you must practice it yourself. If you practice it yourself, your wish will come true, you don't need to pray to anyone. Therefore, the World-Honored One affirmed:

- I declare that it is not because of your request, not because of your wish that you have it.

To clarify this, the Venerable Ones often give an example, like bringing two pots, one containing pebbles and one containing oil, both poured into a lake, the light oil floats up, and the heavy stone sinks. Even if you concentrate on praying for the rock to float, the oil to sink is still impossible because of its nature. So the problem of achieving what you want is not a matter of begging or requesting, but of wishing and practicing.

In short, you reap what you sow. The saying is simple but very precise and clear for everyone to understand. Therefore, if you want to receive blessings, you must do meritorious deeds, accumulate merits, and cultivate the roots of merit. Asking and praying alone is not the content of Buddhist practice because it cannot bring the desired results, because it is contrary to the law of cause and effect.

Therefore, true Buddhists pray but do not ask, because asking is inherently baseless and impossible. True Buddhist prayer is no more than hoping to be enlightened and awakened by the Three Jewels to practice the Dharma. Practicing the Dharma, specifically the Noble Eightfold Path, is the most solid basis for achieving all good dharmas.

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