DHARMA IN EVERYDAY LIFE

By Nhat Quan

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In the Samyutta Nikaya, the Buddha declared:

- The world, the origin of the world, and the path leading to the end of the world all lie within this body.

And the Buddha described the characteristics of Nirvana as follows:

- The complete eradication of greed, hatred, and delusion, that is, ignorance, is called Nirvana.

And in the Digha Nikaya, Mahapadana-sutta:

- Nirvana is the cessation of craving that leads to rebirth; Nirvana is the cessation of actions.

And in the Digha Nikaya, Mahaparinirvana Sutta:

- Nirvana is liberation from greed, hatred, and delusion.

- Nirvana is not the object of self-awareness, craving, and attachment.

- Nirvana transcends all thought, language, and concepts, because it is the state of absolute, supreme peace and happiness when the human mind is pure, free from the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion.

Regarding the Pure Land, as the Amitabha Sutra clearly states:

- Beings in that realm experience no suffering, only joy. The Pure Land is a place where the most virtuous beings gather; there are no ordinary people filled with greed, anger, ignorance, pride, doubt, or wrong views. Therefore, one cannot be reborn in the Pure Land with just a little good karma, karmic connections, or merit. One must practice and cultivate to reach a state of single-mindedness and unwavering concentration to be reborn there.

Based on the above sutras, as soon as one achieves a state of single-mindedness and unwavering concentration, when the mind is free from delusional thoughts and afflictions of greed, anger, and ignorance, the foundation of the Pure Land is already present. The elements of peace and tranquility of the Pure Land are already present in this world. At that time, the Saha world is no different from the Pure Land, and after the body perishes and life ends, one will certainly be reborn in the Pure Land. Thus, Nirvana, or the Pure Land, is real and the goal of Buddhist practitioners, but it is not necessarily some world in the East or West, nor is it a world with worldly pleasures as people imagine. Furthermore, humans cannot attain Nirvana or the Pure Land if, in this life, they do not experience peace, joy, and happiness from shedding suffering and afflictions.

Buddhist teachings can help people find peace in the present moment, or what is called present happiness, to attain Nirvana or the Pure Land in this life. When the afflictions and suffering, such as ignorance, craving, and attachment, are eradicated, then Nirvana is present in this world.

And to eradicate suffering and afflictions, one must apply Buddhist teachings. Simply put, Buddhist teachings are the Buddha's method to help sentient beings end suffering and attain peace and happiness. This joy and happiness are different from worldly joy and happiness because they have no seeds of suffering.

In fact, the Pure Land is also a form of Nirvana, and the Pure Land is also built:

- By pure, uplifting faith, which is faith;

- By uplifting thoughts and intentions, which is aspiration;

- By diligent practice to transform afflictions and suffering, purifying the mind and intentions, which is action.

Through Pure Land practices such as:

- Reciting the Buddha's name, vegetarianism, observing precepts, cultivating morality and virtuous conduct, giving alms, cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, these are the elements that make up the Pure Land.

When these mental and virtuous practices are practiced, there are no more afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion; a pure and peaceful mind will manifest, and the Pure Land will be attained right here in this world. This is what the Buddha and the enlightened saints said:

- When your mind is pure, the land is pure. When you are pure, you see the world as pure. If the three karmas of body, speech, and mind are always pure, you will accompany the Buddha to the Western Pure Land.

Therefore, the idea that practicing Buddhism will lead to the Buddha's realm or Nirvana after leaving this world is a misconception. You will not attain Nirvana or the Pure Land if, in your present life, you do not possess the peaceful and blissful essence of Nirvana or the Pure Land; if your mind is still ignorant and deluded, filled with afflictions such as greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, arrogance, etc. Therefore, practicing Buddhism correctly will certainly lead you to Nirvana or the Pure Land in this present life, and after leaving this physical body, you will still dwell in Nirvana or the Pure Land. There is no such thing as a life of suffering and affliction followed by a life of peace and happiness.

If you are currently living in suffering, anxiety, and the darkness of ignorance and delusion, with a mind full of defilements and afflictions, then even if you perform rituals, practice asceticism, recite hundreds of thousands of sutras and verses, chant the Buddha's name countless times, print scriptures, create statues, give alms, and make offerings, you will not attain Nirvana or the Pure Land after leaving this world, that is, after death, as some people often think.

But if you do exactly as the Buddha taught, give alms, make offerings, and practice according to the Dharma, you can attain Nirvana or the Pure Land in this life, even before leaving this physical body. That is the wondrous function of Buddhism. Therefore, it is said that peace and happiness in the present moment are one of the characteristics of Buddhism.

These actions include:

- Sitting meditation, reciting the Buddha's name, chanting mantras, reading scriptures, performing rituals, making offerings, giving alms, and releasing animals.

But if you lack right view, right thinking, and right mindfulness, then those actions are merely worldly and false doctrines, not true Dharma or Buddhist teachings. If you think you must practice asceticism and live a life of hardship so that the Buddha will see you and take you to the Pure Land after death; if you think you must recite the Buddha's name frequently and call upon the Buddha every day so that the Buddha will hear you, come to relieve your suffering, save you, and receive you; and if you think you should spend a lot of money printing scriptures, creating statues, giving alms, and making offerings to accumulate merit, hoping that the Buddha will see your actions and grant you peace and happiness, help you overcome misfortune, or take you to the Buddha's realm or Nirvana after death, etc., all those thoughts, though good, are not entirely correct.

The essence of the Pure Land and Nirvana is purity, free from defilements, suffering, ignorance, delusion, greed, and attachment; it is peace and tranquility. All spiritual practices and virtuous deeds aim to relinquish the ego, eliminate attachment to self and possessions, to "I" and "mine," to erase the distinction between "I" and "others," and to eradicate the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, to attain the essence of Pure Land and Nirvana.

It is precisely through the present moment of peace and bliss that practitioners can determine whether they are practicing the Dharma correctly. Because during the learning and practice process, if you do not experience peace and bliss, it means you are not practicing the Dharma correctly. The peace and bliss experienced by those who practice the Dharma correctly are unlike worldly joys; they are more subtle, more sublime, and especially do not contain the seeds of disappointment, suffering, or distress. The peace and bliss experienced by those who practice the Dharma correctly is a peaceful mind and pure joy. Therefore, if after a period of practice your mind becomes sorrowful, your face withered, you appear sad, and others feel burdened and do not feel joy when interacting with you; Seeing everyone as inferior, seeing everyone as flawed, only oneself as noble and righteous; seeing everyone as impure, only friends as pure; the more one cultivates, the larger the ego becomes, the more afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion increase; all these manifestations show that one has not practiced the Dharma correctly: wrong in intention, wrong in method of cultivation, wrong in practicing the Dharma, and therefore, the practice of the Dharma does not bring peace in the present.

If the practice of cultivation were sad, dull, and meaningless, there wouldn't be so many people practicing it. No king or wealthy person would be foolish enough to give up a life of luxury, power, and fame to become a monk. Today, many people who come from wealthy families, many who are successful in society, have status, power, and great careers; many who belong to prestigious families are intellectuals, politicians, military leaders, cultural figures, doctors, engineers, and scientists. Because they found peace in the Dharma that far surpasses worldly happiness, they dedicated their entire lives to the Dharma.

To fully practice this in daily life, letting go is the act of avoiding the two extremes of abandoning and holding on; in other words, letting go is the act of avoiding the two extremes of letting go and clinging, which can lead you towards peace. For example, your hand is sometimes at ease, sometimes holding useful tools; conversely, if you constantly hold things, it is truly a painful ordeal, but if you don't hold anything at all, your hand is no different from being paralyzed or diseased.

The same applies to spiritual life: when you have prejudices, you easily cause suffering to yourself and others; everything in your life is easily conditioned according to your own will. Those who are lazy in thinking are truly weak and irresponsible towards themselves and the community. Those who practice letting go will be more open and empathetic to the mistakes of others. You are not dogmatically attached to learned knowledge and cultural customs. In general, you live truly freely, in the truest sense. The following story may shed some light on and enrich the practice of a life of letting go.

A child was playing near an ancient vase. He put his hand in and couldn't pull it out. His father came to help, but to no avail. Both father and son considered breaking the vase. The father said, "Son, try to do as I tell you:

- Relax and straighten your fingers like you see me doing, then pull your hand out.

The son exclaimed:

- How can I do that, Dad! I can't do that because I'll drop the coin!

Someone might laugh, but thousands of you are just like this child, clinging to something meaningless, even at the cost of precious things, even your freedom! So:

- Let go!

Don't worry about your children or anything else. You are young now, but tomorrow you will be old just like your ancestors. No one in this world can escape the law of birth, growth, decay, and death… If you can let go of everything, you will find peace and no longer fear anything in any situation. Conversely, if you cannot let go, you will suffer immensely. Because nothing belongs to you, not even your current physical body. At this moment, focus your mind, let it be at ease, and let others take care of everything else.

The desire for a long life will cause you suffering. The desire to be a noble person will cause you suffering; whatever you want, you will suffer because of it. No matter how earnestly you desire it, you will not get it. Everything is impermanent and always uncertain. The Buddha was like that; you and all the people of the world are like that. Yet you want everything; how can you achieve anything?

Everything in life is like that. When you understand correctly, don't hesitate:

- Let go of everything.

Let go of everything, and you will live a peaceful life. If you don't let go, everything will begin to leave you. Look! Like the parts of your body, they also want to leave you. Because those parts have lived their full lifespan with you, they are about to depart. Its essence is:

- What comes must go.

Because nothing in the world is permanent or eternal, no matter where, when, or what social class one belongs to, rich or poor, adults or children, educated or uneducated… etc. Nothing can be permanent. Everyone is subject to this.

Understanding this, you will no longer be attached to anything. Therefore, let go instead of holding on, because holding on is futile. Letting go will bring peace to your mind; neither sad nor happy, neither fearful nor reckless. At that time, your heart will be at peace with the wisdom of understanding:

- Nothing can ever remain permanent forever.

If you have many things, you will have to leave many things behind; if you have few things, you will leave few things behind; whether you are rich, beautiful, or famous, it makes no difference, everything is the same! So let go of it, let go until your mind is at peace! You will no longer feel pain or pleasure. You will no longer see anything as yours; both pleasure and pain are equally subject to decay, destruction, and disappearance. For example:

- The body is impermanent: Today healthy, tomorrow sick. Today alive, tomorrow dead.

- The mind is impermanent: Today loving each other, tomorrow turning to hatred and resentment.

- Possessions are impermanent: Wealth exists today, tomorrow it is gone. That is, material comforts cannot last forever. One object transforms into another. Things are never fixed.

In short, let go without clinging to anything in this world, allowing everything to flow like water. Water naturally flows downwards, whether it's soil, sand, or fields. That's the nature of water; it naturally flows downwards, and there's no way it can naturally flow upwards. That's the law of the universe.

Because of your ignorance and delusion, you are excessively greedy for beauty, wealth, and fame, without understanding that these things are temporary and impermanent, arising and then dissolving, birth and death! Even your physical body is temporary. Like a fleeting shadow, an illusion, like smoke and mist. But because you are deluded and chase after them, you suffer. You suffer without knowing your suffering, so you keep running around searching for the peace of Nirvana.

Seeing the truth, you abandon your passions, your attachments, and your path of self-destruction. You return to your true, decent self. With your existing qualifications and knowledge, you work diligently, honestly, and maintain your moral reputation. Though you are just like everyone else, you will live a peaceful life in this world. And in that way, peace is real.

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