Chua Duoc Su

Tolerance is another style of humility, always respecting the opinions of others. Each person in society has a different personality and outlook on the world. The ancient sages respected the views of others, but the interests of others first in everything, gladly accepted their opinions, and left good examples for posterity.

Tolerance is also opening one's heart, forgiving someone's mistakes, and accepting the mistakes others have made. But that doesn't mean that you can't distinguish right from wrong, but rather to convert them, giving them more opportunities to correct and repent. That is the greatest motivation for them to repent and find the right path. That's why there is an old saying:

- Use virtue to treat people.

Because virtue is impartial, trustworthy, and all-encompassing. The more virtue, the greater the endurance and the greater the tolerance. As the French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) once observed:

- Tolerance is the only medicine to cure the mistakes that are corrupting people throughout the universe.

From ancient times to the present, from East to West, tolerance is a treasure throughout all human relationships. Thanks to it, you become rich in peace of mind. Thanks to it, you know how great forgiveness is. Tolerance irrigates your soul out of calculations, envy, and narrow-mindedness, and fosters nobility. Therefore, people with noble morals will not attach importance to benefits, only know how to give without receiving in return, always loving and willing to tolerate. That is the source of happiness.

The Buddha often compared a person with tolerance, that person's mind is like a great ocean, because the great ocean has the ability to absorb water from hundreds of rivers, a noble person is tolerant even of enemies. The compassionate Buddha gave people the most precious and precious treasure in the world when he taught that:

The greatest asset in life is tolerance.

The ancients also advised their descendants:

- A man who has no enemies is worthy.

A gentleman should not hold grudges,

To show you how powerful the benefits of tolerance are. In the traditional culture of Meditation Door from ancient times to the present, tolerance is a kind of carefree style, showing the vastness of the heart. It is also a kind of wisdom and realm of moral cultivation, originating from the inner kindness, compassion, and humanity of people.

In this regard, Lao Tzu also once said:

The reason why the sea is the king of hundreds of rivers and thousands of streams is that the sea is at a low place.

In this regard, Lao Tzu teaches that being a human being is to be humble. He said that if a person of high position knows how to be humble, he or she will bring together the hearts of all people, just like rivers and seas, because at a low place, water from every crevice flows down.

The Buddha also taught that:

- A thought that changes the situation.

The reason the Buddha said that is because in the human mind there are often evil thoughts, good thoughts, and tolerance, but only a compassionate heart is able to tolerate all things. The more generous your heart, the larger the world that you can tolerate.

In the world, everyone who accomplishes great things must have a heart as vast as the ocean. Water is considered a symbol of great tolerance, whether it is grace or resentment, right or wrong, whether it is a drop of water in a large river or a small stream. Mr. Lam Tac Tu was a mandarin officer and also a general of the Qing dynasty, He once said:

- Because the sea can accommodate hundreds to thousands of rivers, it becomes large. The cliffs stand for thousands of miles because they know how to absorb millions of thousands of pebbles, sand, and rocks.

This is also about the wisdom of tolerance. The reason the sea is vast, without shore, without limits, without limits is that it does not refuse any drop of water. The reason the mountain can stand tall is that it doesn't refuse even a grain of sand or a small rock. That's why the ancients used to say:

- As a human being, no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes at least once in their life

If you cannot treat each other with forgiveness and tolerance, you will surely find this life full of sorrow.

The ancients said:

- Some people are stupid to the extreme, but the vices of others can be listed very clearly and systematically. He/she talks about other people's scandals, he is unrelenting and has a good article, but when it comes to his/her own business, he is confused, haphazard, careless, unable to distinguish clearly, and his/her mistakes are not good care, even concealing mistakes.

This is caused by a bad mind that instigates and causes that person to do wrong things, and always forgives himself/herself, but knows how to condemn others. As for the intelligent and understanding person, instead of complaining to others, he/she blames himself/herself, using his heart to forgive himself/herself to forgive others. A person can use his/her mind to blame others to blame himself/herself, that is, to reflect, to return to seek in himself/herself, to use tolerance and forgiveness for himself/herself, to tolerantly forgive others, and to be able to deal with Noble:

- What you don't like, don't do to others.

Those who see the righteous work bravely stand up to shoulder it. If he can do that, then this type of person can do anything, including the position of a sage.

For the sake of tolerance, the ancients focused on cultivating the mind and nurturing nature, always focusing on checking themselves, and at the same time being able to use tolerance to forgive the shortcomings of others. Not only can your own virtue be enhanced, but it can also inspire others. Because really, no one in the world is perfect. There are many people who are virtuous on one side, but on the other hand, make a lot of mistakes. It can be said that anyone can make mistakes in life. Therefore, if you cannot tolerate them, you will only find this life full of unpleasant things.

There are people who always see themselves as right, while others are wrong. Whenever there is a conflict, they blame others, treating each other as their enemy. Thus, it is very likely that you will create unwholesome predestined relationships, causing enmity and hatred. When you cannot be tolerant, forgiving, and kind to others, of course, it is difficult for others to be tolerant and forgiving to you. But anyway, remember:

- Tolerating others is to create blessings for yourself

So the Buddha always reminded:

- A life of accumulating wealth is not equal to doing good deeds and accumulating blessings.

Because there is no blessing, nothing will be done, no one will give you if you go to beg. Then the question is how to accumulate blessings for yourself?

The ancients believed that tolerance and generosity were qualities of a gentleman. A tolerant person has a heart that is truly like the ocean, able to collect water from thousands of rivers. They help others out of chivalry and kindness without asking for anything in return. Even if you don't ask for revenge, if you have tolerance, you will have blessings. That is called:

- Whatever you sow, you will reap.

Help others in trouble, when you are in trouble, you will definitely be rewarded. Just as the sea accepts hundreds of rivers and becomes vast, so as a human, learn to tolerate others, just as the sea accepts turbid or clear water from streams. The reason the sea is vast, without shore, without limits, without limits is that it does not refuse any drop of water. The reason the mountain can stand tall is that it doesn't refuse any small stone. So as a human, learn to be tolerant like the sea! Because the sea has very good properties that everyone loves the sea:

- The first feature is that the sea has gentle sandy beaches that take you slowly into the water, making it very easy to drop boats and pull nets.

- The second feature is that the sea is always in place, the sea never moves. If you want to go to the sea, you know the direction to go.

- The third feature is that the sea does not accept dead bodies. When there is a dead body, the sea always pushes it to the beach.

- The fourth feature is that the sea accepts the water of all rivers, whether it is the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Aciravati, the Sarabhu, or the Mahi. Any river that reaches the sea will also give up its own name to bear the same name as the sea.

The fifth feature is that although thousands of rivers continuously pour water into the sea day and night, the sea does not sometimes empty when it is full.

The sixth feature is that seawater is salty everywhere.

- The seventh feature is that in the seabed there are many kinds of corals, pearls, and precious gems.

- The eighth feature is that the sea is home to millions of species of living things, including very large species hundreds of miles long, and species as small as needles or dust particles.

In the direction of expressing the benefits of tolerance, also from the eight characteristics of the sea that the Buddha taught that:

First, if there are times when the sea has sloping sandbanks from high to low that can take you slowly into the water, making it easy to put the boat in the water and pull the net, then so is the Dharma. In this Dharma, people can practice from easy to difficult, from low to high, and from shallow to deep. The Dharma is open to all people of all kinds of faculties. Anyone can enter the Dharma door. Whether you are children, the elderly, the intellectuals, the uneducated... all of them find the right spiritual discipline for you in this Dharma.

Second, if there is a time when the sea always stays in place but does not move to another place, does not sweep away villages and cities, then so is the Dharma. The principles of the Dharma have always remained the same, and the precepts of those who receive and uphold the Dharma have been clearly established. Where there is study and practice in accordance with those principles and precepts, there is the right Dharma, which cannot be wrong.

- Third, if there is a time when the sea never tolerates a dead body in its lap, so will the Dharma. The Dharma does not tolerate ignorance, laziness, and transgressing actions. A person who does not cultivate in a monastic community cannot stay for long in the community. That person will sooner or later be kicked out of the community and the dharma.

Fourth, if there is a time when the sea accepts the waters of all rivers without discrimination, so will the Dharma. From any of the four social classes, everyone is equally welcome into this dharma. When the waters of rivers flow into the sea, they leave behind them the name of the particular river and begin to take the name of the sea. Likewise, those who entered the Buddha's path no longer brought with them their caste, lineage, and social status, but were all collectively called mendicants, or Buddhists.

Fifth, if there is a time when the sea neither diminishes nor fills up, even though hundreds of rivers and thousands of streams and rivers continue to flow into the sea night and day, the same is true of the Dharma. The Dharma is the right Dharma, not because many people follow it, but it is the right Dharma, not because few people follow it, but the Dharma is not the right Dharma. Popularity or decadence do not judge the truth of this dharma.

- Sixth, if there is a time when seawater everywhere has only one taste, salty, then so is the Dharma. Although the Dharma is presented in many ways, even though there are hundreds or thousands of Dharma doors, the true Dharma has only one taste, that is the taste of liberation. Without the ability to liberate, it is not the right Dharma.

Seventh, if it is said that in the seabed there are countless kinds of corals, mother-of-pearl, and precious gems, so is the Dharma. In the Dharma, we have many wonderful and precious Dharma doors such as the Four Noble Truths, the Four Right Efforts, the Four Perfection of Desires, the Five Roots, the Five Powers, the Seven Bodhi, and the Eight Right Paths.

Eighth, if there is a time when the sea is a comfortable refuge for millions of living things, including animals as small as a grain of sand, and there are species as large as hundreds of miles long, then so is the Dharma. In our Dharma, a child or an uneducated person, all sections of society still have the opportunity to practice and study comfortably. In the Dharma, great people have great positions like bodhisattvas and have the opportunity to practice and propagate in a spacious environment. In the dharma, there are also countless beings who have attained stream-entry, once-returner, non-return, and arahantship.

Cyclical cause and effect, although it is the natural law of the universe, is also the right of human beings. It is because of this law that can be tolerated that you can achieve great seas and high mountains, also improve the relationship between people and people, and go together to achieve great careers. To save for thousands of generations the works of building and defending the country of heroes past and present. So tolerance is also a kind of mettle and a kind of wisdom. Tolerance is a kind of cultivation and also a kind of high spiritual realm. Taiwanese writer Lam Thanh Huyen once told a story about the tolerance of the ancients as follows:

Once upon a time, there was a monk who practiced at a temple on a mountain. One night, he was walking in the woods. Under the moonlight, he suddenly realized something, so he was very happy in his heart. He immediately returned to the temple with joy. But as soon as he got to the temple, he discovered a thief came to the temple to steal things.

The thief, after searching for a while, did not find anything to take. He had just returned to meet the monk. In fact, the monk stood silently waiting outside the door for a long time without entering because he did not want to alarm the thief. He knew early on that the thief wouldn't be able to find anything to take, so he took off his jacket and held it in his hand.

The thief had just gone out the door when he saw that the monk had been standing there since when, while the thief was still amazed, the monk said:

- You had to come from afar to visit me, anyway, I can't let you leave empty-handed. The night is cold, you should put on this shirt and go!

After saying this, the monk immediately gave his robe to the thief. The thief didn't know what to do, so he bowed his head and left.

The Zen master watched the thief walk under the moon and disappear into the forest, and exclaimed:

- Pitiful! I just wish I could give him a bright moon!

The monk watched the thief disappear and went into the room to meditate.

The next day, the monk found his coat neatly left outside the door, and his heart swelled with emotion. He happily said to himself:

- I finally gave him a bright moon.

The Zen master's implication tells you that because of his mercy, the thief woke up, his mind was bright, there was no hatred and no intention to appropriate, that's why the thief brought the shirt respectfully returned.

By the way, a famous poet once said:

- A great man has two hearts: a bleeding heart and a generous heart.

The Buddhist scriptures also say:

- Just one thought can change the situation. So, just a sentence, a small action, or just a smile is enough to make bad people turn towards good.

And the proverb says:

- Gold is not pure, no one is perfect.

So when faced with other people's mistakes, if you stay in your heart and find a way on responding, it will only make your feelings worse. Instead of letting hatred gnaw at your mind, you can only reduce suffering by being tolerant of everything, so you will be calm and free. However, you must also know that tolerance is not about covering up, and tolerating other people's mistakes, but letting others make mistakes, but about creating a good opportunity for others to correct. There are times when tolerance brings a thousand times better results than punishment. This is also the advice and education of the ancient sages. And in modern times, the French writer Victor Hugo once said:

- The largest thing in the world is the ocean, but the bigger thing than the ocean is the sky. But what is bigger than the sky is the human heart.

The wide sea can tolerate the purest drops of water, and can also tolerate the dirtiest drops. That's why it became so vast, without a shore. The bright moon can illuminate the dark places of rivers and mountains, and can also shine on the whole earth, without criticizing anyone. As a human being, you must both tolerate good and bad things, and also have to tolerate yourself, others, and all things in the world in order to achieve a perfect life.

Then you know that hundreds of rivers also flow to the sea, harmonizing the salty taste of the ocean; All dharmas pour into the ocean of wisdom, pure one liberated. The teachings of the Buddha were recorded in the Tripitaka, becoming one of mankind's greatest treasures of wisdom.

That teaching has passed for nearly 26 centuries, when Buddhism was spread widely throughout the five continents, Buddhism was also influenced by a large amount from one culture to another. Since then, Buddhism has developed with religious symbols, ritual forms, and even the spiritual practices of the retreats in each place.

Although Buddhism is diversified in form and content of practice through many methods, the characteristics and benefits of tolerance do not change because of that. Medicine does not matter whether it is expensive or cheap, if it is cured, it is good medicine. The Dharma door does not judge good or bad, if it brings people out of birth and death, it is wonderful dharma. Culture does not matter which country it is, but knowing the benefits of tolerance and thoroughly implementing it, that culture is also considered rich and diverse. A lifetime of appearances to teach sentient beings of the Master has only the sole purpose that He wants all sentient beings to be freed from samsara.

Look closely, Buddhism is a religion built on the foundation of intelligence, science, true understanding, and tolerance. All forms of worship are directed at the divine with specific music ceremonies of each nation in general and religion in particular, it is impossible to say which is right or which is wrong. Because if it is true for one person, it will be wrong for another and vice versa. But the ethics of tolerance goes beyond those common senses.

The Buddha is a great teacher of all mankind, so his teachings are not only aimed at a few people or a people in a particular country but at everyone. Therefore, in the teachings of the Buddha, you will find adaptations for all types of people, of all ages, making it possible for everyone to accept and follow.

All people in society, in the human world in general, on the way to abandon the false to find the truth, are like a boat sailing on the sea, that is, they must face many difficulties, hardships, and trials challenge. But when the boat has clearly determined the direction and knows exactly where the shore is, where the destination is, it only depends on your own efforts and talents.

Buddhists too, once you have a firm belief in the Three Jewels, in yourself, have clearly seen the goal, by diligent effort and thorough implementation of the vow of tolerance will quickly come true achieve your ideals. If your faith is not firm or believes without wisdom, then that belief is easily shaken by the influence of circumstances or heresy that drags you away. The suffering of a donkey, a camel carrying a heavy load is not yet suffering, the greatest suffering of man is not knowing which way to go, and where to go.

The Buddha taught that choosing a spiritual discipline is the first principle. The purpose of studying Buddhism is to leave suffering and be happy, that is, to quickly leave the sea of suffering, and to achieve ultimate joy and complete joy. In order to do that, you must choose the right practice in accordance with;

- Your character

- Your level

- Your living situation

- Your wish

Buddha said that although there are many methods of cultivation, the main purpose is only the word liberation, just like the water of hundred rivers also returns to the sea. That is, how do you not be affected by defilements, or disturbed.

So you have to choose the right practice for you, once you have chosen the right practice for you, you should apply it in your daily life to be freed from your many lifetimes of karma, for a peaceful life...

I would like to emphasize, that any method, as long as you apply it in your daily life, is enough to make you peaceful and relaxed, so you should not be attached to any method at all. That's all, I think it's enough to help you go far on the path of enlightenment and liberation. That's why Buddha taught that:

- Dharma practice is like a raft to cross the river, not to hold.

Must understand;

- The Dharma is still to be abandoned, what's more, it's not the Dharma.

Or:

- The Dharma is like a finger pointing to the moon. If you want to see the moon, you must know how to lean on your finger just to see the moon. But absolutely the finger is not the moon.

Therefore, all spiritual practices aim to show the truth of Buddhism, like a finger pointing to the moon. The finger is a means of reaching the moon, and the moon represents the light of truth. The ultimate goal of a cultivator is to end suffering and attain peace and liberation.

In short, in the Buddhist scriptures, there are many different methods of practice, suitable for each class of people and the national identity of each country. As just now, what I suggest to you through that is the benefit of:

- Tolerant heart

Or:

- Wish for tolerance

Or:

The heart is like the sea...

It is also possible that the attitude of tolerance is also considered a spiritual practice. Perhaps, it is because of this richness and diversity that Buddhism brings benefits to everyone. When it comes to Buddhist practices such as a clear and cool stream, just taking small sips can help you dispel your burning thirst. So don't be like a fool just because you see too much spring water and refuse to drink it!

In the Buddhist scriptures, there is a story that the Buddha used to illustrate the disciples' access to the Dharma and his spiritual practices.

There was a man who was thirsty and found a cool stream. But he kept kneeling by the stream without taking a sip of water. When everyone found it strange, they asked why, and he replied:

- This spring water is too much, I can't drink it all. That's why I don't drink any drop of water.

Everyone who heard that laughed at his stupidity. When you study Buddhist scriptures or practice your favorite methods, you should also keep this parable in mind, so as not to become a fool like the thirsty man in this story.

Simply choosing a practice that works best for you, and practicing diligently is sure to bring benefits. If you just look at it without practicing it yourself, you will be like that stupid person, even staying by the stream can't quench your thirst.