Tin hôm nay: Dharma

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammā-Sambuddhassa

Homage to Him, the Exalted, the Worthy, the Fully Enlightened One
Namo Buddhaya, Namo Dharmaya, Namo Shangaya

*
Vulture Peak, Rajgir city, Nalanda district, India,
where the Buddha preaches the Lotus Sutra
Đỉnh Linh Sơn (ngoại ô thành Vương Xá = Rajigir) nơi Đức Phật giảng kinh Pháp Hoa

Om A Ra Pa Ja Na Di

A Little Buddha Of Tibet

~ o ~

The Human Route

Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed – that is human.
When you are born, where do you come from?
When you die, where do you go?
Life is like a floating cloud which appears.
Death is like a floating cloud which disappears.
The floating cloud itself originally does not exist.
Life and death, coming and going, are also like that.
But there is one thing which always remains clear.
It is pure and clear, not depending on life and death.
Then what is the one pure and clear thing?

_oOo_

The statues of The Buddha and his ten great Disciples in Bodhgaya, India

The Ten Great Disciples of the Buddha:

1 Ananda
(Đức A-Nan-Đà, Dharma Pitaka Holder, Buddha's cousin)

2. Sariputta
(Đức Xá Lợi Phất, Master of the Heart Sutra)

Source: Wikipedia
* 3. Maha Mogallana
(Đức Mục Kiền Liên)

4. Subhuti
(Master of the Diamond Sutra)

5.Upali
(Vinaya Holder, full story below)

6. Maha Kassapa
Đức Ca Diếp (Tổ thứ nhất sau khi Đức Phập nhập Niết Bàn)

7. Punna

(When asked by the Buddha what he would think if people were to assault or kill him, each time Puṇṇa explained how he would find himself fortunate. As a result, the Buddha commended Puṇṇa on his self-control and peacefulness.)

8. Rahula
(the Buddha's son)

9. Anuruddha
(the Buddha's cousin, read Upali story below)

10. Maha Katyayana (Kaccana in Pali)
(Master of Doctrinal Exposition)

_ oOo _
Parinirvana (Death)

After nearly a half century of teaching, the Enlightened One predicted that He would pass away in three months time on the full moon of May. The news hurriedly spread over the land.

The Venerable Ananda, who had yet to realize Enlightenment, begged the Blessed One to remain on earth longer. With great compassion, the Master gently reminded him it is in the nature of all composite things to pass away, to separate ourselves from all that is near and dear. Everything that is born, or brought into being, and organized, contains within itself the inherent propensity for dissolution. On one occasion, when the Order was gathered about the ailing Blessed One, He noticed that Ananda was not among them, but stood apart, weeping bitterly because the Buddha would soon pass away and he had not realized Enlightenment.

After sending for him, the Buddha said, "For a long time, Ananda, you have been very near to me by acts of love in word, deed and thoughts. You have done well, Ananda! Be earnest in your efforts and you, too, shall know Liberation."

When the Blessed One had journeyed to Kusinara, the Awakened One felt His long life was drawing to a close. He addressed the Order, assuring them He had not withheld any spiritual instruction regarding the Path leading to the end of sorrow and to Enlightenment. The Buddha stated He would not appoint a successor but, rather, He bequeathed the Holy Dhamma (the Truth) as the ultimate guide for their lives.

Counseling the Order, He said:

"Hold fast to the Truth and the Discipline as a lamp. Seek deliverance alone in the Truth. Strive on with diligence. Free yourself from the tangled net of sorrow and dissatisfaction. Look not for assistance to anyone besides yourself. In regard to the body and the mind, let one be mindful and overcome the greed which arises from the body's craving, which arises from craving for sensations, which arises from craving due to ideas, reasons and emotions. If one is mindful, seekers of Truth shall surely reach the top- most pinnacle of Emancipation. But they must be willing to learn."

The Buddha gave special exhortation to members of the Order: to practice and meditate on the Truth, and to spread it abroad so that the teachings would last long and be perpetuated for the good and happiness of great multitudes, out of compassion for the world and the good of every living being. He gave those in the Order, the teachers of many, the last chance to ask questions to resolve doubts or misunderstandings, noting this would be the final opportunity to question the Master face-to-face. All remained silent.

The Compassionate One said:

"It may be that you do not speak out of reverence for me as your teacher. If that is so, then speak to me as my friends.

Still, they remained silent. The Buddha, with His Wisdom-mind, saw into their inmost hearts that, indeed, no one had misgivings and that everyone assembled would surely realize Liberation. Finally, before passing away, the Buddha said:

"Perishable are all conditioned things, but the Truth will live forever! Work out your Liberation with diligence!"

The Buddha lay on a couch spread between two giant sal trees. The ancient texts say the trees blossomed out of season and sweet-smelling flowers scattered over His couch.

Then, lying on His right side, calm and composed, the Great Being entered a profound state of deep meditative bliss and passed away (entered Parinibbana, the final decease of an All-Enlightened Buddha). A light spread over His face and then His body.

There occurred a mighty earthquake and from the depths of the earth a great roar arose, and from the heavens peal after peal of hair-raising thunder was heard. Those who were emancipated from sorrow bore their grief, collected and composed. Those who were not yet set free covered their faces and wept in anguish. Those who were liberated comforted the bereaved.

After the Buddha passed away, prominent monks spent the rest of the night discussing the teachings. At dawn, the Venerable Ananda informed the Mallas of Kusinara of the death of the Master.

For seven days the Mallas and throngs of people paid respect to the body of the Blessed One with lights, incense, garlands of flowers, instrumental music and religious songs. For the cremation ceremonies, a pyre of perfumed wood and flowers was prepared.

The body of the Buddha was cremated with honor due the Greatest King. His relics were distributed to Kings in equal portion. They were enshrined in burial mounds (stupas) which have become sites of pilgrimage for the faithful. Thus the Buddha Sakyamuni passed from earthly eyes, yet His teachings of Truth, the way to end sorrow and life's pain, remains in our hearts and minds forever!

http://www.buddhamind.info/leftside/arty/his-life/last.htm

_oOo_

Tổ Bồ-Đề-Đạt-Ma

~ o ~

First Ch’an Patriarch in China

Shaolin Temple, Mount Tung (shan)

DengFeng County, Henan Province, China

(Sơ Tổ Trung Hoa, Thiếu Lâm Tự, Tung Sơn, quận Đằng Phong, tỉnh Hà Nam, Trung Hoa)

Bodhidharma

(~440AD – ~536AD)

The object of my coming to this land (i.e., China)

Is to transmit the Dharma for the deliverance of those under delusion.

In five petals the flowers will be complete.

Thereafter, the fruit will come to bearing naturally.

_His Holiness Bodhidharma

~oOo~

The lineage from Shakyamuni Buddha to Bodhidharma

and from Bodhidharma to Hui-Neng

Shakyamuni Buddha

1.Maha Kasyapa (Tổ Đại Ca Diếp)

2.Ananda (Tổ A Nan)

3.Sanavasa

4.Upagupta

5.Dhritaka

6.Michaka

7.Vasumitra

8.Buddhanandi

9.Buddhamitra

10.Parhsva

11.Punyayasas

12.Asvaghosa

13.Kapimala

14.Nagarjuna (Tổ Long Thọ, President of Nalanda University)

15.Kanadeva

16.Rahulata

17.Sanghanandi

18.Sanghayasas

19.Kumarata

20.Jayata

21.Vasubandhu

22.Manura (Manorhita/Manorhata)

23.Haklenayasas

24.Aryasimha

25.Vasiasta (Vasi-Asita)

26.Punyamitra

27.Prajnatara (Tổ Bát Nhã Đa La)

28.Bodhidharma (Tổ 28th ở Tây Thiên, Nhất Tổ Trung Hoa)

29. Huiko (Nhị Tổ Huệ – Khả)

30. Sengtsan (d.606AD) (Tam Tổ Tăng – Xán)

31. Daoxin (Tứ Tổ Đạo – Tín)

32. Hungren (Ngũ Tổ Hoằng Nhẫn)

33. Hui-Neng ( Lục Tổ Huệ – Năng, Người đất Lĩnh Nam, Quảng Đông!)

The Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng (638-713)

~oOo~

Faith-In Mind

(Hsin-hsin-ming)

Gatha of Seng T’san, Third Chan Patriarch

It’s not difficult to discover your Buddha Mind
But just don’t try to search for it.
Cease accepting and rejecting possible places
Where you think it can be found
And it will appear before you.

Be warned! The slightest exercise of preference
Will open a gulf as wide and deep
as the space between heaven and earth.

If you want to encounter your Buddha Mind
Don’t have opinions about anything.
Opinions produce argument
And contentiousness is a disease of the mind.

Plunge into the depths.
Stillness is deep. There’s nothing profound in shallow waters.
The Buddha Mind is perfect and it encompasses the universe.
It lacks nothing and has nothing in excess.
If you think that you can choose between its parts
You’ll miss its very essence.

Don’t cling to externals, the opposite things,
the things that exist as relative.
Accept them all impartially
And you won’t have to waste time in pointless choosing.

Judgments and discriminations block the flow
and stir the passions.
They roil the mind that needs stillness and peace.
If you go from either-or, this and that,
or any of the countless opposites,
You’ll miss the whole, the One.
Following an opposite you’ll be led astray,
away from the balancing center.
How can you hope to gain the One?

To decide what is, is to determine what’s not.
But determining what’s not can occupy you
so that it becomes what is.
The more you talk and think, the farther away you get.
Cease talking and thinking and you’ll find it everywhere.

If you let all things return to their source, that’s fine.
But if you stop to think that this is your goal
And that this is what success depends upon
And strive and strive instead of simply letting go,
You won’t be doing Zen.
The moment that you start discriminating and preferring
you miss the mark.
Seeking the real is a false view
which should also be abandoned.
Just let go. Cease searching and choosing.
Decisions give rise to confusions
and in confusion where can a mind go?

All the opposing pairs come from the One Great Buddha Mind.
Accept the pairs with gentle resignation.
The Buddha Mind stays calm and still,
Keep your mind within it and nothing can disturb you.
The harmless and the harmful cease to exist.
Subjects when disengaged from their objects vanish
Just as surely as objects,
when disengaged from their subjects, vanish too.
Each depends on the existence of the other.
Understand this duality and you’ll see
that both issue from the Void of the Absolute.

The Ground of all Being contains all the opposites.
From the One, all things originate.
What a waste of time to choose between coarse and fine.
Since the Great Mind gives birth to all things,
Embrace them all and let your prejudices die.

To realize the Great Mind be neither hesitant nor eager.
If you try to grasp it, you’ll cling to air
and fall into the way of heretics.
Where is the Great Dao? Can you lay It down?
Will It stay or go?
Is It not everywhere waiting for you
to unite your nature with Its nature
and become as trouble free as It is?

Don’t tire your mind by worrying about what is real
and what isn’t,
About what to accept and what to reject.
If you want to know the One,
let your senses experience what comes your way,
But don’t be swayed and don’t involve yourself in what comes.
The wise man acts without emotion
and seems not to be acting at all.
The ignorant man lets his emotions get involved.
The wise man knows that all things are part of the One.
The ignorant man sees differences everywhere.

All things are the same at their core
but clinging to one and discarding another
Is living in illusion.
A mind is not a fit judge of itself.
It is prejudiced in its own favor or disfavor.
It cannot see anything objectively.

Bodhi is far beyond all notions of good and evil,
beyond all the pairs of opposites.
Daydreams are illusions and flowers in the sky never bloom.
They are figments of the imagination
and not worth your consideration.
Profit and Loss, right and wrong, coarse and fine.
Let them all go.
Stay awake. Keep your eyes open.
Your daydreams will disappear.
If you do not make judgments, everything will be
exactly as it is supposed to be.

Deep is the Tathagata’s wisdom,
Lofty and beyond all illusions.
This is the One to which all things return
provided you do not separate them,
keeping some and casting others away.
Where can you put them anyway?
All things are within the One.
There is no outside.

The Ultimate has no pattern, no duality,
and is never partial.
Trust in this. Keep your faith strong.
When you lay down all distinctions there’s nothing left
but Mind that is now pure, that radiates wisdom,
and is never tired.

When Mind passes beyond discriminations
Thoughts and feelings cannot plumb its depths.
The state is absolute and free.
There is neither self nor other.
You will be aware only that you are part of the One.
Everything is inside and nothing is outside.

All wise men everywhere understand this.
This knowledge is beyond time, long or short,
This knowledge is eternal. It neither is nor is not.
Everywhere is here and the smallest equals the largest.
Space cannot confine anything.
The largest equals the smallest.
There are no boundaries, no within and without.
What is and what is not are the same,
For what is not is equal to what is.
If you do not awaken to this truth,
do not worry yourself about it.
Just believe that your Buddha Mind is not divided,
That it accepts all without judgment.
Give no thoughts to words and speeches or pretty plans
The eternal has no present, past or future.

~oOo~

Song Of The Grass Hut

By Ancestor

Shitou Xiqian
(700-790AD)

(Tổ Thạch Đẩu Tây Thiên)

I’ve built a grass hut where there’s nothing of value.
After eating, I relax and enjoy a nap.
When it was completed, fresh weeds appeared.
Now it’s been lived in-covered by weeds.
The person in the hut lives here calmly,
Not stuck to inside, outside, or in-between.

Places worldly people live, he doesn’t live.

Realms worldly people love, he doesn’t love.

Though the hut is small, it includes the entire world.

In ten feet square, an old man illumines forms and their nature.

A Mahayana bodhisattva trusts without doubt.

The middling or lowly can’t help wondering;

Will this hut perish or not?

Perishable or not, the original master is present,

Not dwelling south or north, east or west.

Firmly based on steadiness, it can’t be surpassed.

A shining window below the green pines-

Jade palaces or vermilion towers can’t compare with it.

Just sitting with head covered all things are at rest.

Thus, this mountain monk doesn’t understand at all.

Living here he no longer works to get free.

Who would proudly arrange seats, trying to entice guests?

Turn around the light to shine within, then just return.

The vast inconceivable source can’t be faced or turned away from.

Meet the ancestral teachers, be familiar with their instructions,

Bind grasses to build a hut, and don’t give up.

Let go of hundreds of years and relax completely.

Open your hands and walk, innocent.

Thousands of words, myriad interpretations,

Are only to free you from obstructions.

If you want to know the undying person in the hut,

Don’t separate from this skin bag here and now.

~oOo~

Tomo Geshe Rinpoche (1866 - 1936)

Dungkar Gompa monastery in Wheat valley, southern Tibet

Yiga Choeling monastery in Ghoom near Darjeeling, India

This is the place where Lama Govinda became Tomo Geshe Rinpoche's disciple in 1931.

~oOo~

Domo Geshe Rinpoche’s disciple Lama Anagarika Govinda recorded in The Way of the White Clouds that Geshe Rinpoche “detested any kind of hero-worship and did not want his person made into an object of veneration.” On the day that Domo Geshe Rinpoche accepted him as a disciple his Guru told him:

“If you wish me to be your Guru, do not look upon my person as the Guru, because every human personality has its shortcomings, and so long as we are engaged in observing the imperfections of others we deprive ourselves of the opportunities of learning from them. Remember that every being carries within itself the spark of Buddahood (bodhicitta), but as long as we concentrate on other people’s faults we deprive ourselves of the light that in various degrees shines out from our fellow-beings ….The greatest among men were those who recognized the divine qualities in their fellow-beings and were always ready to respect even the lowliest among them.

As long as we regard ourselves superior to other or look down upon the world, we cannot make any real progress. As soon, however, as we understand that we live in exactly that world which we deserve, we shall recognize the faults of others as our own —though they may appear in different form. It is our own karma that we live in this “imperfect” world, which in the ultimate sense is our own creation. This is the only attitude which can help us to overcome our difficulties, because it replaces fruitless negation by an impulse towards self-perfection, which not only makes us worthy of a better world but partners in its creation.”

~oOo~

Let’s hear the 4 amazing incidents in the life of Buddha!

Once a man approached Buddha looking furious. He was a businessman and his two sons were followers of Buddha. But this man felt that his sons were wasting time with Buddha instead of concentrating on business. He felt that spending four hours of their day seated next to someone whose eyes were always closed was incredulous. The businessman was very upset.

So, with seething anger, he went straight to Buddha, looked him in the eye and spat on his face. Buddha simply smiled. He showed no anger but his disciples around him got very angry. And who wouldn’t feel that way when you see someone spit on the face of your teacher. They, however, had to keep quiet since Buddha was with them. When the businessman saw that his action got no reaction, he walked away in a huff.

The businessman could not sleep in the night thinking of Buddha. The smile of Buddha haunted him and he became very restless. Next day, he went to Buddha and fell at his feet and asked for forgiveness for his actions. Buddha said, “I cannot excuse you!”

Everyone present including the man and Buddhas disciples were shocked by Buddha’s words. Then Buddha explained, “Why should I forgive you when you have done nothing wrong.”

The businessman told Buddha that he has wronged Buddha by spitting on his face.

Buddha simply said, “Oh! That person on whom you spit is not here right now. If I ever meet that person whom you spat on, I will tell him to excuse you. To this person who is here, you have done no wrong.” That is real compassion.

Once, Buddha went for begging in a house. The householder instead of giving any alms starting scolding Buddha. He shouted, “You are such an able-bodied person who is a prince and could have done great good to the world by working but you are now begging. It’s a shame.” etc.

Buddha listened to him calmly and after he finished, asked whether he can ask a question. The person consented. Buddha asked that if a parcel is sent to somebody and the receiver does not receive it, to whom does the parcel belong to? The man said that in that case the parcel should come back to the sender. Lord Buddha said that he had not received whatever the person has said, and left.

There is this lady who came to Buddha with her dead baby and asked him to revive the child. Buddha said he would do the needful but he needs a vital ingredient to bring about the resurrection. He asked her to get salt from a house which had never seen death.

The woman went from door to door the whole day but she could not find such a house. Later in the evening, she went to Buddha and fell at his feet and said that she understands it now. She is not the only person who has suffered the loss of a loved one! We can all derive a great lesson from this story. Everyone has to go through pain in their life. We should stop feeling victimized by circumstances, overcome the miseries and move on.

During the time of Buddha, there was a fearsome dacoit by the name of Angulimal. He was a monster who had vowed to cut off a thousand heads with his sword. And as a memento, he would cut one finger from each of his victims and made a garland of fingers. Once Buddha along with his followers was travelling through the hill in which the dangerous dacoit resided.

When finally Buddha came near the dacoit, he raised his sword and told Buddha that he is going to cut his head off.

Buddha as usual was his smiling self and said’ “My head is for yours to take but it is an old tradition to fulfill the last desire of a dying person.”

When Angulimal asked Buddha what his last wish was, Buddha simply told him to cut off a branch from a nearby tree.

When the dacoit did so, Buddha told him to put it back to the tree and make it whole like before. Angulimal told Buddha that it was not possible to do so.

That’s when Buddha said, it is easy to cut off the branch of a tree just like it is easy to cut off my head. It can be done by any child.

What is difficult is to create, to heal and that only real men of real power can do! Cutting of someone’s head is childs play. But to give life to a fellow being is what needs power and that’s what the real mighty do!

Angulimal realized the vanity of his pursuit and dropped the sword. He went on to become Buddhas disciple and spent his time in contemplation and understanding the true meaning of life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86JL9-UdZfQ&t=17s
~oOo~

The Heart Sutra (in English)

This translation of the beloved sutra comes from the chanting book of the Kwan Um school of Zen:

* * *

The Maha
Prajna Paramita Hrdaya Sutra

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.

Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
That which is form is emptiness,
that which is emptiness form.

The same is true of feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.

Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear or disappear,
are not tainted or pure,
do not increase or decrease.

Therefore, in emptiness no form, no feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.

No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch,
no object of mind;
no realm of eyes
and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness.

No ignorance and also no extinction of it,
and so forth until no old age and death
and also no extinction of them.
No suffering, no origination,
no stopping, no path, no cognition,
also no attainment with nothing to attain.

The Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and the mind is no hindrance;
without any hindrance no fears exist.
Far apart from every perverted view one dwells in Nirvana.

In the three worlds
all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.

Therefore, know that Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra
is the great bright mantra,
is the utmost mantra,
is the supreme mantra,
which is able to relieve all suffering
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra,
proclaim the mantra which says:

gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha
gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha
gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha

-oOo-