DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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According to Doan Trung Con's dictionary of Buddhism, Liberation should be understood as follows:

- Solution is to leave the bondage, to be free, to open the bonds of evil karma.

- Liberation is nirvana, for leaving all bondage of the five aggregates

- Liberation is also meditation because, through meditation, you get rid of bondage and become free.

- Liberation is a part of the Five Parts of the dharmakaya. That is why Buddhism is the liberation of the path, the liberation of conduct, and the liberation of precepts. Therefore, the robe is also called the robe of liberation. Liberation is of two types:

* Pure liberation: That is, the nature of sentient beings is pure without the bondage of pollution.

* The nature of liberation, that is to say, the nature of sentient beings is generally pure, but since beginningless time, sentient beings have always been bewitched by afflictions, unable to express their nature, so they must break with that obstacle and be liberated and free.

Liberation also has two ways of matter and ruling principle:

- About matter: That is, liberation from the cycle of suffering, karma that is binding the body, such as liberation from hell, ghosts, and animals. Freed from all laws.

- About the ruling principle: That is, to free all afflictions, loves, and resentments that once bound the mind, such as liberating samsara to achieve holy results: Arahant, Bodhisattva, Buddha, enlightenment.

Thus, liberation according to Buddhist philosophy is the human mental state beyond all attachments of the sensual world, the cessation of all desires, extinguishing the fire of desire to attain Nirvana with an absolutely pure mind. Liberation means liberating all afflictions, the strings of afflictions that bind the mind, making the mind dull due to sensuality. When you are liberated, you also reach liberation, that is, you overcome the bondage of the mundane world, free from the domination of lust, birth, and death, afflictions, and live completely free. Liberation is understanding human reason to reach the condition of nirvana. But reaching the condition of nirvana does not mean returning to the complete nothingness, but actually eliminating prejudice, and narrow ego-grasping because the existing world is a non-self world, from which be able to understand ideas:

- All actions are impermanent, all dharmas are not-self, and all are void of the dharma seal.

Buddhist philosophy holds that the starting point of the thought of liberation is liberation from the sufferings of human life. So if you want to be liberated, you need to extinguish all desires and return to your true nature.

The question is how to return to your nature while you are still living in this world of relationships and troubles?

 Indeed, living in this world, no one lives without relationships with others, because the nature of society is relationships. A person living in society has many relationships, such as father-son relationships, brothers, husband and wife, friends, colleagues, clans, villages... In general, in all relationships between people together, you don't always get everyone's support. A person as perfect in character and morality as Buddha also met many opponents who criticized, insulted, and slandered him with trivial words or with philosophical arguments; As the wanderer, Magandiya said that when the Buddha advocated the control of the six organs of the sense and did not let the six sense objects pull, causing the mind to be shaken and polluted, he was the one who destroyed life. Or as the wanderer, Dighatapassi of the Nigantha pagan group thinks that the Buddha was just a magician who used miracles to attract disciples of other religions. That is not to mention the dark plots of pagans that advocate lowering the prestige and honor of the Buddha.

Therefore, living in your life should not expect everyone to agree with you, what is important is how you behave towards those who behave badly towards you. Whether you let go of equanimity or react with anger is your business, but you should know that letting go is the stuff of liberation, reacting angrily is the condition of attachment. Liberation, therefore, does not mean to refer to another world or to a life after death, but it is in this world, this life, that you have a free spirit in all circumstances, in all circumstances human treatment, that is the meaning of liberation in Buddhism.

          Many people think that liberation means cutting off all relationships with people and all activities in society, hiding in the mountains, or living in isolation in the hermitages. The liberation that way is not the positive connotation of liberation in Buddhism. The positive meaning of liberation in Buddhism is to live in bondage between relationships but you have your freedom and your peace of mind. For example, your neighbor may behave inappropriately towards you, but that does not mean that you become angry or upset with that person. The state of being neither angry nor upset is the standard of freedom, peace, and liberation. So someone has very rightly said the liberating nature of Buddhism that:

- Freedom is cavalier in bondage. Happiness is itself in the middle of suffering.

Usually, when faced with an unpleasant situation, you tend to find a way to avoid it. It's because you don't have the courage to face it. Avoidance is not the way to happiness, because everywhere, there are always unpleasant things happening to you. So keep in mind that, right now and here, if happiness is not possible, then without hope in another place, another time you can have happiness. True happiness is facing difficulties and overcoming them with the virtues of Patience, self-control, and composure. These three qualities are the substance of freedom and liberation.

Indeed, the Buddha was very free, the reason he walked freely amidst thousands of such scoldings was that he was free from things he did not like. It is the peace of mind that makes his feet light, his face radiant and his eyes compassionate. You are not free, so when you encounter an unsatisfactory situation, you will get angry or frustrated.

To practice is to cultivate the strength of self. The stronger the practice, the greater the self-sufficiency. For example, if you have not studied and practiced Buddha's teachings before, in relationships, you are not satisfied with this person, dissatisfied with that other person. But when you have studied and practiced the Buddha's teachings, you will no longer be annoyed with this person or dissatisfied with the other, even if sometimes this person or that person treats you differently. Or you used to hate people who spoke ill of you, but once you have studied the Buddhadharma, you no longer hate those people, even though they still speak ill of you. Not being annoyed, not disgruntled, and not hating are the essentials of being free. The magic of Buddhism is that it helps you to have a peaceful and happy life, not to help you pray to achieve this or that desire.

Freedom is not only freedom from undesirable things but also freedom from pleasant things. The Buddha said that the method leading to peace and liberation is to cut off the bondage of desirable and pleasant dharmas. You are largely bound to two states of mind:

- Or enjoy what's cute…. endearing

- Or be annoyed with what is not cute … not likable.

This is because you lack insight. Vipassana is thinking, contemplating all things and phenomena in this life according to the Buddha's teaching, that is, seeing that all existing dharmas are dependently arisen, not real, bearing the nature of impermanence, suffering, and not-self. By contemplating in this way, when you encounter pleasant and agreeable dhammas you don't generate a mind of pleasure or attachment, just as when faced with unappealing and unpleasure dhammas, you don't give rise to anger or displeasure, because you know they are only fake, not real, like dreams, like water bubbles, like lightning, like dewdrops...

Such thinking and contemplation are called liberating wisdom. From liberated wisdom leads to a liberated mind, that is, from thinking leads to life attitude. Positive thinking is a positive attitude, negative thinking is a negative life attitude. Here, thinking according to the Buddha's words will lead to an attitude of letting go, being at ease, at peace, and being liberated. On the contrary, not thinking according to the Buddha's words will lead to clinging, selfish, egoistic attitudes...

By practicing such a way of thinking, your mind becomes light, free from attachment, and unselfish. Live peacefully in the midst of a life of gain, loss, success, and failure. For a person who practices properly the Dharma, liberation is revealed to the outside, making anyone who looks at it also feels likable and agreeable. On the contrary, those who do not practice or practice not in accordance with the Dharma will have a melancholy mind, withered faces, and feel heavy when exposed to others. So if you want to know who is practicing or not, you just need to look outside. Anyone who always shows joy and happiness, and everyone who comes in contact with them feels light and satisfied, then they know that person is a practitioner. Anyone who is often scowling and annoyed, and no one likes to be close, knows that person does not practice.

Buddha, in addition to natural beauty, also has a beauty that comes from inner liberation. That is why the ascetic Upaka first met the Buddha and uttered words of surprise at his liberating beauty:

- Who is your teacher and what religion do you practice, what is the method of cultivation that your five senses are so clear, your skin is so clean and fresh.

The purpose of Buddhists is to practice liberation, so although Buddhists have to live in society and have to do professions in making a living, they should not focus on seeking wealth, blessings, and results. the good news in human nature is too much. But it is necessary to develop a strong mind towards liberation, the longer the practice, the more durable it will be, and one day it will reach the final goal like the Buddhas. On the contrary, as the Sixth Patriarch said in the Dharma Bao Dan Sutra:

- If the true self-nature is deluded, there is no blessing to be saved.

According to the above definition, if you want to be liberated, you must first:

1- Freeing the Body or liberating the Circumstances

External circumstances still cause suffering, so all of you need your liberation in the present life, that is, to live with your right to live in this world, without being restrained. Rape in injustice strong rape weak, wise rape fool, big rape small, etc. There are two ways to get rid of the painful bonds of circumstances to oneself:

- Human life in Western countries has not equal because here mankind has reached an extreme level of material civilization. Utility clothes are always ready for you to use as you please, without much work and still no shortage, without seeing the governing body but still agreeing with security. They are beautiful, they are strong, they are rich, they have a long life, and they do not suffer from anything. But Buddha concluded that being born in a civilized country is also a disaster because their people only know how to indulge in things, do not develop a spiritual mind, and often have to fall.

So if you want to be liberated, you must know enough, and at the same time, you must restrain yourself from running after fame and gain.

 - Although you are not like the monastics in Buddhism, if you know how to limit your material life, you can expand your spiritual life. Prosperous material things for you are the prey of lust, the aid of competition, and because of that you will plant evil that will receive evil results, material things can lead you down the path of corruption, then you need to be separated to practice morality. Until the material life becomes a dependent item, then you don't need any fame or glory outside of attachment and shaking. Thus you have liberated yourself and the situation.

2- Liberation of Self-Mind

Although having overcome the constraints of external controlling circumstances, inside there are many varieties of afflictions and delusions that have not yet been freed from the great and steady suffering caused by them, it is because of seeing you. and have everything. In terms of signs, it is often called the hindrance of liberation, that is, the cessation of afflictions, especially ignorance and craving, then you are liberated. There are ten binding afflictions, which are:

- Greed

- Hatred

- Delusion

- Arrogance or conceitedness

- Wrong view.

- Doubt double.

- Swedish Drowsiness.

- Fluctuations, or instability of mind and body.

- Shamelessness, self-shameless, or having no shame of self.

- Recklessness, or having no shame around other people

Either ten fetters or ten misdemeanors are

- The illusion that the body

- Doubts

- Clinging to mere rules and rituals

- Love in the world,

- Hatred, Hatred, or resentment

- Love in the form realm,

- Attachment in the formless world,

- Arrogance or conceitedness

- Agitation, Fluctuations, or instability of mind and body

- Stupid.

Because of the ten afflictions and the ten fetters, you see that you have you and have everything, that is, you have accepted No as Yes, and you have faked it to be real, so there is suffering. You all, every day, from morning to night, wake up and sleep, living only with fake appearances, and pretending, but have never been certified with the truth. On the contrary, for how many fake images are real, using a discriminating sense to claim greed, anger, and doubt. Not accepting things objectively adds to the subjectivity and opinions, so they are forever confused. All the afflictions come from that, then all the attachments of suffering also arise from there. If you clearly observe and know that all, whether phenomena, abstractions, concepts, etc., are false and deformed of the mind-consciousness, then confusion will be eliminated, and wisdom will appear in accordance with the truth and at the same time delusions such as afflictions, such as karma, and suffering is all dissipated, then you are liberated from samsara. That is, liberating all evil defilements, all that of the three worlds sentient beings are currently suffering...

The Buddha was the master who destroyed these kinds of defilements. One of the immeasurable virtues of the Perfectly Enlightened One is pure virtue, which is absolute purity, unwavering before any circumstances. That pure virtue is often described in seven aspects:

1- Pure precepts

2- Pure mind

3- The pure view

4- End of pure doubt

5- Path, non-path of pure knowledge

6- Practice the path of pure knowledge

7- Pure knowledge

Getting rid of all hindrances in the mind, and escaping from the prison of the three realms is a great work, and practical, but it is not absolute, it has not broken all the secret delusions. Here only the confusion about the self is broken, but the confusion about the dharma-self is still there, so the liberated wisdom part, as well as the practice part, is still in the relative circle. To say is knowledge of relative liberation because there is still liberation and not liberation, pain, and happiness, Nirvana and samsara. Meanwhile, with complete and absolute liberation, intellectuals are no longer limited by time and space and are no longer dominated by mediocre psychology.

In short, as long as the above afflictions still dominate your life, you cannot be liberated from the cycle of birth and death. In terms of mind and wisdom, liberation includes:

- The liberated wholesome mind means the mind liberated from the unwholesome states of mind, and

- The kusala wisdom of liberation is clear wisdom, communicating the truth without being obstructed by any prejudice.

At this point, you can clearly see that the meaning of liberation according to Buddhism is not being saved by an Almighty, but cutting off the bonds of afflictions such as greed, hatred, delusion, or of the five aggregates...

In terms of nature, which is often called the purity of liberation, that is, the nature of peace and freedom of the Buddhas and saints. The dharmakaya of the Buddhas and saints consists of five parts:

- Precepts, concentration, wisdom, liberation, and liberation of knowledge.

          You are an ordinary human being, the liberation you desire is to be free of attachments of any kind. That is, for desirable dhammas, you just need to get out of the way of enjoyment. With regard to unappealing dhammas, you can only get out of anger and discomfort.

For you, the path to liberation is full of obstacles and requires a lot of effort. But if you are often persistent, diligent, and always mindful and aware, even in the present moment you can also be at peace in the midst of afflictions.

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