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Buddhism - Definition, Founder & Origins
Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama ("the Buddha") more than 2,500 years ago in India. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major world religions. ... Many Buddhist ideas and philosophies overlap with those of other faiths
· Concept .
· The origin of Buddhism.
· Doctrine of Buddhism.
· Human life.
· Cosmic view.
· Concept of God and Soul.
· Classics: Tripitaka.
· The Sects.
· Buddhist Patriarchs.
· Indian Buddhism.
· Chinese Buddhism.
· Vietnamese Buddhism.
· Buddhist flag.
· Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha.
INTRODUCTIONS :
National life with geographical circumstances and natural climatic influences have given India a different history from other countries in the world. It is an India with deep forests and mountains, known as the Pays blues, which greatly influenced the earliest humanist, progressive and liberating thought in human history. Famous philosophers, commentators and treatises also appeared in this mysterious land.
Before the Buddha appeared, in terms of thought, Indian religion, philosophy as well as economy, politics and society were extremely complicated. At that time, India had over 62 different doctrines, dominating the entire philosophical thought system, most notably Brahminism. India as a complex city, many doctrines are many lines crisscrossing each other, infinitely diverse. Because those doctrines cannot avoid the belt of disputes, they do not adorn life with beauty, happiness, and happiness. And society is divided into four distinct classes; the Brahmin (Brahman) and Ksatriya (Ksatriya) class are considered superiors, enjoy all rights, are the ruling class; and the Ve Xa (Vaisya) and Thu Da La (Sùdra) classes are slaves and untouchables who are always despised, trampled on by society, and not protected by the law. They are the people at the bottom of society, always being oppressed and exploited mercilessly, especially the Thu Da La class. Living under a materialistic society is groaning under the yoke of injustice, surrounded by many troubles, many adversities, suffering and troubles. Mentally, it is spinning, crazy in the tangled theoretical thoughts. Humans know where to cling to? know who to trust? It is a very tragic scene, So people always yearn for a beautiful and true way of life to overcome the chaos of life. Humans know where to cling to? know who to trust? It is a very tragic scene, So people always yearn for a beautiful and true way of life to overcome the chaos of life. Humans know where to cling to? know who to trust? It is a very tragic scene, So people always yearn for a beautiful and true way of life to overcome the chaos of life.
In the midst of a deadlocked social situation and people, it seems that there is no way out for life. It was at that important moment that the Buddha, the great one among the greats, appeared like the warm morning sun, dispelling the darkness of the thick black night that had long covered human life. This is the most important event in the great events of human history. The appearance of the World-Honored One is a wake-up call for those who are still asleep in the long dark night; is a message to save suffering for all kinds of sentient beings who are living in a state of misery and confusion, full of greed, hatred, and delusion. . .
Buddha: The Sanskrit word is Buddha, which means wisdom.
The Buddha is the one who is fully enlightened, fully enlightened, and then enlightens sentient beings with that enlightenment. That is why it is said that Buddha is self-aware, enlightened, and fully enlightened. In the World of Ultimate Bliss, there are countless Buddhas, some who have entered Nirvana, there are Buddhas who often travel to the world to help people.
Teaching: Teaching, teaching is also religion.
- Buddhism is the words and teachings of the Buddha, forming a systematic teaching to teach people. It is a very noble Doctrine and Philosopher, teaching sentient beings to self-awaken, self-enlightenment, self-enlightenment, to eventually become Buddhas.
- Buddhism is a major global religion, spread in many countries, with a total number of followers of nearly one billion. The largest number of Buddhist followers is in Asian countries such as: India, Nepal, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma, China, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. etc…
2. The Origin of Buddhism Phật
Buddhism is a very ancient religion, dating back a long time, since the time when mankind formed a social life. About 2600 years ago, Shakyamuni Buddha was born in India, practiced exclusively for more than 6 years, attained Buddhahood, realized the teachings of the Four Noble Truths, helped people relieve suffering, and liberated themselves from the cycle of suffering. Reincarnation of birth and death opened a new path suitable to the level of evolution of human life at that time, because Brahmanism at that time was in decline, and the teachings were greatly modified, making Indian society There are serious inequalities, which make people far from the circle of Thien Luong and sink into a pool of suffering.
Shakyamuni Buddha brought the teachings that he realized to be explained to sentient beings for 45 years, forming a very sublime Buddhism, led by Shakyamuni Buddha as the leader. Buddhism has been handed down since then.
But in the year of the Rat (1924 according to the Western calendar, 2468 according to the Buddhist calendar), opened a new era, with a very large number of humanity with a very high level of evolution, leaping every day, so Buddhism experienced over the past 2468 years, it is no longer suitable for the evolutionary momentum of human beings, and is no longer effective in controlling human psychology; Moreover, after the reign of the Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng, the position of the Buddhist Patriarch was no longer inherited with Y Bat, so the Buddhadharma was modified more or less by people, making the Buddhist teachings further and further away from the True Dharma. and in the end it was completely lost.
3. The Teachings of Buddhism Phật
The basic teachings of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Dependent Originations.
The Four Truths are also known as the Four Noble Truths, the Four Saints, and the Four Emperors. (The fourth is 4, Truth is true and fundamental teaching, Dieu is mysterious, Saint is sacred, Ly is teaching).
- The Twelve Causes and Conditions are 12 causes and conditions, one causes that result, another becomes another causes another, 12 times in a human's life in the mundane world, forming a closed circle. closed, only showing that no cause is first, no effect is final.
Four Emperors
The Four Noble Truths are the four absolute magical truths that only enlightened people can feel. Before Shakyamuni Buddha expounded this teaching, none of the contemporary sages had discovered it.
These Four Truths are true, if one does not know and do not practice, they cannot be liberated. Shakyamuni Buddha preached this teaching for the first time to save Kieu Tran Nhu's group of 5 men: Kieu Tran Nhu, A-Sa-Ba-The, Ma-Ha Bat-De, Ma-Ha Cau-Loi, and Thir-Luc. Ca-Lettuce.
Thanks to hearing the Buddha preach the Four Noble Truths, the 5 He became enlightened, immediately took refuge in the Buddha, and attained Arahantship.
Since then began to have the Three Jewels (3 precious things): Shakyamuni Buddha is the Buddha Treasure, the Teaching of the Four Noble Truths is the Dharma Treasure, the 5 enlightened people who follow the Buddha's disciples are the Sangha.
The Four Noble Truths include:
- The Emperor of Suffering
- Episode Emperor
- Emperor of Destruction
- Dao Emperor.
The Truth of Suffering
All that is unsatisfactory is suffering. The Buddha divided into 3 types of suffering: Suffering, Destructive Suffering, and Action Suffering.
- Suffering:
Suffering from countless eons in the past piled up to create our present appearance. Taking the form of the flesh is a combination of sufferings, through living time, people have to endure the internal sufferings created by themselves and the external sufferings caused by natural disasters, yoke, etc... Only intellectuals who look at the reality can understand it, but those who are ignorant, even if they explain it, can't make it clear. So, Suffering is the suffering in the previous life and the suffering in this life superimposed on each other.
Whenever there is birth, there will be death. Therefore, when the human body is born, grows up, ages and dies, that is suffering. Sacrifice is suffering caused by the ravages of time that no one can resist.
Suffering is the suffering that arises in mental and physical actions. The defilement is the practice of suffering. When thought ceases, mind ceases all activities, then the mind ceases to act and suffers ceases. As long as there is Action, there is also Suffering. These three types of suffering belong to sentient beings. If talking about human suffering in particular, the Buddha describes the following 8 states of suffering:
+ Suffering of birth: At birth there is suffering, and at life is also suffering.
+ Sickness: Illness is the most painful suffering in human life and makes loved ones suffer.
+ Old suffering: Being old is suffering. Shoulders shaking, knees tired, back pain, blurred vision, deaf ears, ... can't do anything, so the spirit is restless and miserable.
+ Suffering of death: If you have lived, you will be afraid of death. When you see death coming but cannot avoid it, you will be very afraid and miserable. When you die, you leave behind many regrets in the world. Death is separation so suffering.
+ Separation of love from suffering: Love but being far away is suffering. Houses, fields, cars, fame, beautiful wife and good children, thinking of abandoning everything is extremely painful.
+ Asking without suffering: If you wish, you will suffer if you don't get it. So many people who dream of wealth or greatness but can't fulfill it are frustrated and miserable.
+ Resentment is suffering: Resentment, jealousy, but living together is suffering. Resentment of suffering is only the suffering of living in adversity. Competitions for fame and fortune also produce this suffering.
+ The Five Warms of Suffering: The Five Warms are Form, Life, Thought, Action, and Consciousness. This eighth state of suffering covers all human suffering. The rise and fall of the Five Warms means the rise and fall of both material and spiritual.
People who have sympathized with these sufferings see that, in this world, there is not a single moment when people are completely happy.
Episode Emperor
The practice is to gather and form. So what gathers to become suffering?
To explain the cause of Suffering, the Buddha talked about the past. That past that spans countless lifetimes, it is the Cause of the present life. The suffering that people have to endure in this life is the result of their evil deeds in the previous life. To prove this truth, the Buddha spoke of the Theory of Causation and Reincarnation. The basis of this theory is the Twelve Dependent Conditions. (See the following section). The bad aggregates of previous lives that cause suffering in this life are countless, but in total include the following 10 categories:
Greed : Greed is selfish.
Yard: Anger burns conscience.
- Si: Delusion due to ignorance.
- Man: Arrogant, petty jealousy.
- Doubt: Doubtful. These people have more troubles and worries than anyone else. They doubt everything, they never feel reassured.
- Body view: The seeing of the body, knowing the self on the material side, but not knowing one's own Buddha nature.
- Perspective: One-sided knowledge, not comprehensive, so narrow, easy to make wrong decisions.
- Ants: Conserve what you know.
- Precepts forbidden: Follow the prohibition of the Evil cult, should have illegal actions.
- Wrong view: What is seen and known is not true. Wrong view is still delusion, Right view is enlightenment.
Those are the 10 afflictions that people have accumulated in countless past and present lives. That is the cause of the Truth of Suffering.
Emperor of Destruction
To destroy is to destroy, to eliminate. I have surely seen the origin of suffering, evident Human and fruits,should want to end suffering, we just need to put away all his staff.
Thus, we need to take the Twelve Causes and Conditions that go up and down gradually, eventually we will destroy ignorance. Ignorance is lost, then like the sun emerging from a dark cloud, we will be released from the cycle of samsara full of suffering.
Dao Emperor
The Noble Truth is the path to be followed to escape suffering. The Buddha still advocates using the clear understanding mind to break the delusion, but the clear mind is still not enough, it is necessary to have the ability to practice to destroy the source of defilements. That practical power has 8 paths to practice for Righteousness. That is the Noble Eightfold Path. The Noble Eightfold Path includes:
a) Right View: See clearly and know the truth, do not let wrong view obscure your wisdom, make your seeing and knowing not wrong.
b) Thought itself: Thought remembering the right thing. Expression Right thinking is thinking things that benefit others, not harm anyone. If you want to think, then there is no greed, no anger, no delusion.
c) Right speech: Truthful speech, true to oneself and true to everyone. The opposite of Righteous Speech is Vong language. Those who practice Right Speech are freed from Oral Karma.
d) Right karma: Righteous actions, not doing evil. If you want to have Right Karma, you must strictly observe the Forbidden Precepts.
e) Right Livelihood : Living righteously by an honest and transparent profession, not being greedy for profit but forsaking humanity and not taking advantage of the opportunity to become fat.
g) Right Effort: Study diligently and cultivate for progress. In order to do that, you must keep an honest, clear mind.
h) Righteous thoughts: Remembering what is true, in order to finally keep the mind pure, to the point of nothingness.
i) Right Concentration : Concentrating thoughts, ie concentrating your mind on true morality. It is the meditation to keep the mind completely pure.
The Noble Eightfold Path helps cultivators to manage themselves, leading to complete enlightenment, ie attaining the Way.
Twelve Fates
The Twelve Predestinations are the 12 Predestinations. The cause is the cause, just as the grain of rice causes the human to give birth to the rice plant; Condition is what complements the rice grain that gives birth to the rice plant, such as light, water, manure, and care. So the Cause and Condition is the cause, and the one that complements that cause becomes the effect.
The Twelve Causes and Conditions clearly state the interrelationship of all physical and psychological phenomena. Things inherently arise and die, change according to the Law of Cause and Effect, never completely annihilated. In other words, all things do not have an independent substance, but are a combination of many factors, and are impermanent, always changing from one state to another.
Of the 12 Causes and Conditions, it is not possible to name a single cause as the first cause, because the 12 Causes and Conditions form 12 links that intertwine into a continuous circle, with no beginning, no end. The end (beginning and ending), which people call the Wheel of Biochemistry, or the Wheel of Reincarnation, is represented by the figure below.
The wheel of samsara represents the twelve causes and conditions
The Wheel of Biochemistry is a circle with no beginning, but it is often presented as starting from Ignorance.
1) Ignorance
Ignorance is a state of ambiguity, ignorance, not realizing the true mind. Ignorance is only the continuation of death (Death). At death, the body is destroyed, but Ignorance persists. It is the cause of ACTION, i.e. actions created in later life.
2) Onions
Action is action, creation. Due to Ignorance, afflictions arise, causing Body, Speech, and Mind to create good or bad karma, so it is called Action. Ignorance and Action are considered to be two conditions of the past.
3) Wake up
Consciousness is Consciousness, only about the spiritual part. After death, karma leads the Divine Consciousness to reincarnate to receive retribution. In the present life, the first stage is Consciousness (Consciousness), which is equivalent to the first moment of conceiving a baby. It has no consciousness yet, but the subconscious mind or Birth-consciousness directs it towards life. When this subconscious mind advances to a stage of visible formation, that is the second stage of present life: nama-rupa.
4) Names and Colors
Form is the body. In the body, there are two parts: The spiritual part (Mind) has only a name, not a form, so it is called Name; body part called Sac. Name and form is the stage of development for Mind and Body to combine for the first time into a combination, which is a baby with full spirit (Mind) and body (Body).
5) Six-entry
The entry is 6 places to enter. When there is a Body, then of course there must be Luc Roots: Eyes, Ears, Nose, Tongue, Body, and Mind, which are places for Luc Tran to penetrate, so it is called Luc Enter. The six worlds are: Appearance, Sound, Perfume, Taste, Touch, and Dharma.
6) shovel
Contact is contact. This period corresponds to the first 1 or 2 years of a newborn's life. The six senses develop and function, but the sense of touch is most prominent. The baby touches everything to contact the outside world with its touch.
7) Longevity
Tho is to receive. When the six senses are in contact with the six ceilings, they will receive the happy and sad scenes. The infant begins to manifest consciousness and reveal individuality. From the Consciousness stage to the Feeling stage, the so-called 5 effects of the past appear in the present life.
8) Ai
Desire is desire. When receiving the happy scene, the greed arises, wanting to make it happy forever; When encountering suffering, they generate anger, sadness, and want to leave. This is the motive that drives Body, Speech, and Mind to create Karmas.
9) Thu
Prime is hold. Because of lust, try to keep pleasure things as the purpose of life. Even though I know that life is suffering, I still don't give up what is right for me. Therefore, there is Thu and Huu.
10) Friendship
Being is there, having me is present in life in the world. What we like, it makes us want to live. Being is the Fruit of Thu and the Cause of Birth. Ai, Thu, and Friendship represent the 3 stages in the actions of adulthood, which combine to form the 3 Causality of the present. When an individual enjoys the effects of the past, he is also creating causes for a future life.
11) Born
Born is born. Because Ai, Thu, and Friendship are the current causes of karma, they must be reborn in the future to receive retribution.
12) Lao and Tzu
Old age and death are old age and death. Born, raised, old and dead. Life and death are constantly changing. Death is the body, but the spirit. His spirit leaves the body but still lingers in Ignorance, so he carries the Karma that circulates and sinks in the Six Paths of Samsara. As long as there is Samsara, there is still suffering.
In this Wheel of Biochemistry, the present tense is specifically explained in detail with eight stages, but really ignorance and action are of the past, birth and death are of the future, there are similar stages. as present. In the 12 Factors of Dependent Origination, Ignorance, Craving, and Holding, are called Or (Enchanted); while Actions and Beings belong to Karma. The remaining factors including 5 present and 2 future results belong to Suffering, that is, the result of suffering.
Buddhist perspective on life
Where do people come from?
To answer this question, Buddhism has the doctrine of the Twelve Causes and Conditions. In those 12 Cause and Conditions, Ignorance is the basis. So what is Ignorance?
Ignorance is not knowing the truth as it really is, thus giving rise to confusion, falsehood for falsehood, falsehood for truth, perversion of false hope, self-grasping, law-abiding, and afflictions arising from the opposite situation, so also called OR. From enchantment that creates Karma, either good or evil. That creation is action, the second factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
Due to the accumulation of good and bad karma, the group forms the Karma Consciousness. This karmic consciousness is matured by training and then born into the mother's womb, which is the food of Awakening, the third factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions. In the mother's womb, collect blood to make flesh. Consciousness and physical harmony is called NAME, which is the 4th branch of the 12 causes and conditions. (Name is Consciousness, Form is the body).
From the list of times, the image is full of 6 roots, called the LENGTH ENTER, which is the 5th branch of the Twelve Causes and Conditions. After coming out of the womb, the 6 senses are in contact with the 6 ceilings, knowing heat, cold, pain, and smoothness... so it's called EXACT, the sixth limb in the Twelve Causes and Conditions. Because of that contact, the mind gradually produces mindfulness and distinctions, and then there are pleasures and pains, ... That's called TRI, the 7th factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
Due to the feeling of joy and suffering, the thought of liking and disliking, and attachment to it, gives rise to craving, the eighth factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions. Because of craving, one should seek to grasp the good and the desirable. It's called THU, the 9th branch of the Twelve Causes and Conditions. In order to satisfy the pre-infection and preferences of craving and clinging, one must create karma. This karma can attract future results, so it is called HUU, the 10th factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
If there is Being as the seed, then there will always be BIRTH, the 11th factor in the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
If there is Birth, then there must be LAO and THO, the 12th branch of the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
Of the 12 Causes and Conditions, Ignorance belongs to Or, and Action belongs to Karma. It is the Past Human.
Because of that past Cause, there are 5 present suffering results: Consciousness, Name-Form, Six-Enter, Contact, and Feeling.
Due to the above-mentioned present suffering results, either craving or clinging arises, and creates Karma as Being, in order to act as the Cause for the next Suffering Fruit, Birth and Lao-Tzu in the future.
Thus, from the Past Cause to the Present Effect, and the Present Effect as the Cause for the Future Effect, the three lifetimes go on and on and on and on and on and on without end, like a spinning wheel, up and down, up and down, no pause. Based on that, we know that people not only live a life in the present, but before in the past, have lived through countless lives already; and later in the future, there will also be countless lives.
The present person lives here and then dies, but death is what Humans make into the future life. Thus, life and death follow one another without end, like ocean waves, one dissolving to join another without end, if there is still wind. As for humans, if the wind of ignorance still blows, the stream of life will still be flowing, floating and floating forever.
4.2. How is the human body?
After we know what causes the presence of people in this world, another question that comes to our mind is: What is the human body like? Beautiful or ugly, true or false, precious or despicable?
To answer this question, Buddhism has many theories depending on Hinayana or Mahayana, one sect or another. These theories, although many, are not contradictory but complement each other, making the problem presented in all aspects, from narrow to broad, from shallow to deep, from appearance to form, from particular to special features. General, … Below we would like to present these concepts sequentially from the Human Vehicle to the Heavenly Vehicle, through the Two Vehicles and finally to the Mahayana so that readers can have a complete conception of this issue.
The concept of Humanity
The human body is in harmony, due to the blood of parents and Divine Consciousness, contributing to 4 substances: Hard, Wet, Hot, and Dynamic. The active in it is Consciousness (Karma). Because of Human Karma, the group of predestined conditions combine to form a human body. That karma is created by the creation because the previous life is trained in the self-mind, combined with human-like abilities, able to feel the human body.
Thus, from the place where the mind creates karma, those actions return to successfully train the human karma in the mind, until the karmic function is mature, meeting all the conditions, and emotions appear. have a human body. While people, because of their limited understanding, mistakenly believe that the body is spontaneously born, and after death completely annihilates.
Dying to change into a new body, being born to replace the old body, revolving in the cycle of birth and death. So the body of the present person is only one body in an infinite number of bodies. He has changed countless bodies in the past, and in the future he will also change many more bodies, if not a single thought of "Reflection". The present birth is only one birth in an infinite number of births, and today's death is also only one death among countless deaths.
This present body is the result of Karma created in the previous life, and the body that will come later is the result of the creation of Karma now. Therefore, people in Buddhism who are receiving the present sambhogakaya, whether suffering or happy, accept it spontaneously and patiently, because no matter how they ask for it, they cannot change it. If you know how to worry about cultivating the body, you can change the bad into good, to enjoy good results in the future, that is, you have to practice good dharmas and abstain from evil deeds.
4.2.2. The concept of Heaven
Complete 5 precepts, humanity has been completed, training for good human karma in the mind, and later, when mature, will feel the human body is good, healthy, long life, to enjoy happiness in the human world. The Buddha taught only the causes and consequences, and the practice to avoid suffering from bad bodies and to experience good, strong, and happy bodies.
4.2.3. The concept of the Two Vehicles (Saints)
- The body is unclean : Take the eyes of the Second Vehicle to see where the body is, just a dirty thing, due to many impurities mixed together. They just feel that it is a phenomenon of all kinds of afflictions, and there is nothing worthy of being called pleasure, so there is a sentence: "The body is the basis of suffering" (The body is the root of suffering). Is it due to the body suffering, the sufferings such as: Cold, heat, hunger, thirst, fatigue, pain, reverse, etc... all belong to THIEN, but Tho has come out because of the six roots in contact with the six ceiling. The body is the refuge of the six roots, so suffering takes the body as the root. Besides, there is nothing in the world that is as painful as: At birth, screaming in pain, in old age trembling and trembling, in sickness and in anguish, in agony at death, these four great sufferings are birth pains. pillar, change, and destruction of the body.Alas! The body is the root of suffering, the body is impure, the body is impermanent (Impermanent means "uncertain", "changing", "non-permanent"), there is nothing scarier and boring than the body!
- The body is fake: The root Or Karma has been subtracted, the top is the Body, of course it must be dry. When the cause is gone, the fruit also disappears by itself. After the body is no longer moved, the suffering is not dependent on it, that is, peace and happiness. If you can end your Karma, you will be born without tainted wisdom and become a Saint of the Second Vehicle.The same is true of the wisdom eyes of the Second Vehicle Saints. For ordinary people it is a beautiful body, for them, the body is not even there, let alone beautiful. It's not a different scene, but the place where you see and know is different. It is the same scene, but because of different intellectuals, the place of perception is not the same. Because they no longer see that there is a real body, they no longer have attachment to the body, and no longer have the thought: The human body, the body, because they are all the same five warms, the six senses. Under their wisdom eyes, and moreover, they are all the same as the Four Great Combinations: Skin, flesh, tendons, bones, hair and nails, all are Earth elements; blood, mucus, tears and sweat, all are Thuy Dai; Temperature belongs to the Fire element; with the movement belonging to the wind element. If the four elements are opposite, how can the body have it?
Knowing that the body is false, all afflictions will be eliminated by themselves, because the body is the basis of craving. At that time, no-self wisdom arises, forever free from birth and death in the 3 realms, ie finally attaining the Second World. Buddhism excess.
4.2.4. The concept of Mahayana
Body as illusory: Body is not self-existent, due to the transformation that consciousness has; body is not self, take Consciousness as body; The whole body is Consciousness, except for Consciousness there is no body. The body has the function of consciousness manifesting, the function is embodied by the Karmas trained in Consciousness.
Karma conditions arise, but depend on the body to arise, so the body is a false dharma, due to the manifestation of Consciousness. However, from the body to create contaminated or pure karma, as a condition for training in the mind, making the self-mind turn into the ability to become infected or pure. The body and the ability to rotate to make the conditions for each other, there is not real, not real, not real, real co-illusion. For that reason, with the Mahayana contemplation, the body appears as illusory.
Humans, although living in suffering, have Buddha nature. With that Buddha nature, people can get out of that situation. Humans do not need to kneel and beg for someone, but by their own self-reliance and actions, only they can liberate themselves. Man is the creator of his life. When he is in a coma, he makes himself suffer, but when he knows he is in a coma and tries to get out of his delusion, he is the one who causes his own happiness. That is the advantage of man, it is also the great belief of man.
From one point of view, the human condition is boring, but from another point of view, being human is truly precious. Therefore, it is not quite right to say that the Buddhist view of life is pessimistic, but it is also not quite right to say that it is optimistic. Optimism or pessimism depends on your perspective. (According to the article on Buddhist philosophy of life by Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa, in General Buddhist Studies, course V, pp. 400 to 422).
5. Cosmic Quan Buddhism
Set the first issue
Buddhism is different from other religions, which do not believe in the existence of a host. For Buddhism, the universe is born, not thanks to a person or a magic outside it, but only through the continuation of karma. The Effect is now due to the previous Cause, the previous Cause is due to the previous Effect too; just like that going back and forth forever, Cause and effect, never the same. Thus, the Universe for Buddhism is Beginningless (without beginning), but there is no beginning because there is no first cause.
In the phenomenal world, we see birth and death, which we consider impermanent. But if we consider the whole Universe and stand in the real world, then there is no birth and death, but everything is eternal. As said before, there is no first cause, so we would be wrong if we ask: What was the first cause that created the universe? And we go even further in the mistake of asking: Who created the universe?
It is correct to ask the question like this: "What is the reality of relative yes and no, that is, the universal universe?" or: "What is the reality of the universe?" That is the first question, aimed at understanding the reality, the true nature, the true form, or to put it in Philosophical terms, in order to understand the reality of the universal universe.
The second question is: "Originally from reality, the universe was formed and changed by what causes? And how?"
These are the two main questions, then we can add sub-questions like: Is the universe wide or narrow? the same or not the end?
Answering the first question, Buddhism has a True Commentary; Answering the second question, Buddhism has Dependent Origination, answering the third question, the Buddha taught: The universe or the world is immeasurable, boundless, infinite.
5.2. True General Luan
True General Luan is a theory that explains the reality of the universe. The reality or the true form of the universe, Buddhism often calls it suchness. (Truth is real; As always, unchanging, without birth and death, beginningless and ending).
Thus, True as is an unchanging entity, without birth and death, without loss, without beginning, no end, with clarity, having all the wonderful uses of virtue. To refer to suchness, sometimes Buddhism, depending on each case, is also called by other nouns such as: True Mind, Enlightenment, Victory, Buddha Nature, Enlightenment, Dharma Nature, Suchness, Oneness, ...
The purpose of True General Comment is to let us realize that: Reality or True Likeness, cannot be seen with words and letters, but must leave all famous signs and perceive it. But in order to have a rough idea of suchness, say to yourself, "Suchness is the opposite of phenomenal phenomena", "phenomena is the reverse of suchness".
Dependent Origination Argument
The Arguments of Dependent Origination are theories about the cause or reason for the arising of phenomena. Dependent Origination in Buddhism, there are many theories, but they are not contradictory, but differ only in terms of depth, finality or not. So we go from shallow to deep sequentially.
Predestined karma
The argument of dependent origination is the doctrine of Theravada Theravada Buddhism. This theory is drawn from the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Causes and Conditions.
As we know about the Four Noble Truths, Buddha taught: The cause of suffering, of birth and death is due to Or Karma. Either delusion, Karma is the act of making. Because of delusion, there are wrong actions, because of wrong actions, suffering results, ... and the cycle of Cause and Effect Reincarnation continues forever, creating a Righteous Retribution which is our body, and the medical report is a mountain. geography. The reason why there is a great earth is that there is a relative way to our body.
When the cause changes, the karma also changes, so Righteousness and medical retribution also change. Humans, when creating human karma, are reincarnated in the next life, the newspaper is still human and the medical journal is still the mountains and the earth as you have noticed. But if you create bad karma, the next life will be an animal or a hungry ghost, and the medical retribution, which is the surrounding realm, will no longer be the same as the previous realm of humans, that is, the universe of ten thousand things. property will change according to the sight and understanding of that species. That's why it's called karma, that is, because of karma, it feels like that body and scene.
Generally speaking, due to karma, there is the body (retribution) and the world (medical report). Righteous retribution and medical retribution can be this or that, good or bad, due to good or bad karma. But anyway, as long as there is karma, there is still the phenomenon of gender. To get rid of karma is to return to suchness, to enter Nirvana.
5.3.2. A-Re-Da-Destiny Origin
This theory belongs to Mahayana Buddhism, going deeper than the theory on one level.
In the theory of Dependent Origination, there are only 6 Consciousnesses: Eye, Ear, Ty, Loss, Body, and Mind. After death, the five aggregates disintegrate, Karma leads to reincarnation, but leading to what? Six Consciousness or Consciousness is impermanent, changing forever, even though karma remains, what does it take to preserve the karma and cause it to evolve unceasingly?
The Mahayana Teachings complement the above theory, finding two more Consciousnesses, namely the Seventh Consciousness or Mandala Consciousness and the Eighth Consciousness, the A-Lai-Da Consciousness. Man-Na is grasping the place of seeing and knowing, that is, claiming to have a Self, and preserving that Self. But how to keep that Self? while the Five Aggregates and the Six Consciousnesses are both impermanent and eternally united.
Then, under the Mandala Consciousness, there must be an extraordinary Consciousness, which contains all the seeds of all dharmas. That is the 8th Consciousness: A-Lai-Da Consciousness, or Tripitaka (Contained Consciousness). This consciousness is not impermanent like the Five Aggregates, but is constant and permanent. It has two functions: One is to capture all dharmas, The other is to generate all dharmas.
When we do good or bad karma, the seeds are stored in the Tripitaka, and when there are enough conditions, those seeds are released. Because the Alaya Consciousness includes all the seeds of all dharmas, it detects the infinite power of all phenomena. When our body has just arisen, it includes the objective world (ie everything). The difference in the difference between the objective gender is due to the conscious impact of the subjective gender.
In short, A-Lai-Da-Consciousness is the basis of world phenomena. Since beginningless time, the A-Lai-Da Consciousness has covered the seed. Gender phenomenon discovered by this strain. The discovered phenomenon will stimulate the arising of new conditions, leading to the effect. Thus, the seed and the phenomenon of cause and effect together forever make all things manifest and form the foundation through many kalpas of samsara.
But if the Alai-Da-consciousness is the foundation of samsara's cause and effect, then the A-La-Da-consciousness is also the cause of liberation, because in the A-La-Da-consciousness there are both tainted and unscrupulous seeds. The organic seeds are the seeds that give rise to thousands of differences, ie the phenomenon of gender; and the seeds are not smuggled, for the outside world, know there is hope, so don't let the mind move, so it can lead to liberation.
5.3.3. Truthful Origination
This theory of the Mahayana General Religion. According to the Mahayana General Teaching, True Likeness gives birth to all dharmas, or necessarily creates only mind. Mind is all-inclusive and has two aspects: On the dynamic side, Mind is the door of birth and death; In terms of purity, Mind is the door of suchness.
But why is it that the same Mind has two contrasting aspects? It is because of Ignorance. True likeness is inherently permanent, immobile, but because of ignorance as a condition, it causes it to move and make a difference. Ignorance is not a real thing, it is based on the mind. It is a wishful thinking. So in the Sutra it is often said: " Spontaneous thoughts arise, called ignorance. "Because of that delusion, we see that there is a subjective, an objective, a self, a non-self, and a universal universe.
But all beings can not exist outside of the mind. True likeness, though stimulated by ignorance, moves, but in the cave there is stillness, in the still there is movement, just like water and waves in the sea. From a water perspective, all waves are water; From the wave aspect, all water is waves. The mind is like the sea, the feet are like the water, and all objects are like the waves.
Beings are obscured by ignorance, so they only see the world of thousands of objects; Bodhisattvas and Buddhas, having eliminated all ignorance, see all objects as True Suchness. The mind consists of True Likeness and Ten Thousand Objects: Pure is True Likeness, Dynamic is Ten Thousand Objects. Movement and purity are not separate, not the same, but not different. Those are the two aspects of Mind. To refer to these two aspects, there is a sentence in the Sutra: " Depends on immutable, invariable depending on conditions. "
Depending on the Pure condition, the Four Saints will be born, depending on the infection will give birth to the Six Mortals. From stillness to movement is to enter the gate of birth and death, and that is also the cause of the development of the universe. From cave to being still is to enter the gate of True Suchness and that is the cause of liberation.
5.3.4. The Continent Origination
The Six Great Dependent Origination is the policy of Tantric or Shingon School. The six elements are: Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Void (Space) and Consciousness. The first five elements belong to matter (ie things), the sixth element belongs to the mind dharma (ie Mind). These six elements, each of which are mutually compatible and unobstructed, and dependently arise in the universe of all things.
Dividing Matter and Mind is our intellect to distinguish like that, but the essence of reality is still one, still indivisible. The object is the form, the mind is the active force. Force cannot leave form, leaving form, force does not exist. As for the picture, if it weren't for the force, it wouldn't be detected. Matter and Mind are only two aspects of the same being.
I have this because of the combination of Luc Dai. If the continent is separated, we are no longer there. And the loss is just due to the change of the continent. The continents combine or separate to form an active universe. From a general perspective, the universe is a continuous activity of the Six Continents. True as is the entity of the Six Elements that our reason can abstract. Saints are different, good and evil are different in knowing or not knowing the difference between Truth and phenomena.
5.3.5. The Dharma Realm of Dependent Origination
The Dharma Realm of Dependent Origination is the policy of the Mahayana School (Hoa Nghiem Tong). This theory holds that: The Dharma Realm (ie the universe of all things) is a very large dependent origination, that is, the dharmas act as causes, make conditions for each other, rely on, contrast, and communicate with each other.
The active force of the dependent origination of the dharmadhatu, not belonging to the karma of living beings, not the differential consciousness of A-lai-da, nor the egalitarian rationality of True Suchness. It is because of all dharmas, that this dharma is in harmony with that dharma, that dharma is in harmony with that dharma, together as a dependent origination, each layer and layer is not infinite, so it is called Endless Dependent Origination, or Coincidence. start. Thus, the universal universe is a great activity of phenomena, from beginningless to endless, continuing and pervading endlessly like waves. Because there is activity, there is birth and death change. If there is no activity, there is no change, that is, there are no phenomena, no universe.
The reason that the dharmas are the conditions for harmony and interdependence is due to the 10 wonderful properties that Mahayana Buddhism calls the 10 mystical dishes . Again, because of these 10 mysterious items, in the Dharma Realm, the Law and the Law, the Reasons and the Things are tolerated without hindrance. (The general is the difference, the reason is the equal reason).
To conclude this presentation of Dependent Origination, we can summarize as follows:
- Karma feeling Dependent Origination means: Karma is the cause of the phenomenon of gender. Karma by fascination.
- A-Lai-Da Dependent Origination wants to say: The root of phenomena is the A-La-Da consciousness. A-Lai-Da covers all organic and non-contaminated seeds. Due to the illegal seeds, the universe was born. To be liberated from the phenomenon of gender, one must practice and detect the unscrupulous seed.
- True like Dependent Origination means: True likeness is conditioned by ignorance to move and give rise to the universe.
- The six great states of Dependent Origination and the Dharma Realm Dependent Origination are two similar visualization theories, both explaining the two aspects of phenomena and the reality of oneness. Unconsciousness is the cause of the phenomenon. If you can perceive, you can be liberated.
The above theories all have similar points: Each theory recognizes that there is Truth as the essence of the universal universe. The cause of the arising of the universe is delusion or ignorance. If you want to be liberated, you have to get rid of delusion.
The Space and Time of the Dharma Realm
We have talked about the cause of the universe's existence. At this point, let's listen to the Buddha's teaching about the boundless vastness and infinite existence of the universe or the Dharma Realm.
According to the teachings in the Sutras, the universe or in Buddhist terms is the Dharma Realm, it is infinitely vast and infinite. Our world here is not only one, but as many as the sands of the Ganges. Every 1000 Small Worlds merge into one Small Thousand Worlds; 1000 Small Thousand Worlds become one Middle Thousand Worlds, 1000 Middle Thousand Worlds unions become one Great Thousand Worlds or Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds.
Each of these Three Thousand Great Thousand Worlds is composed of 1000 million (ie 1 billion) worlds as small as ours. Furthermore, the universe is not composed of only one Great Thousand Thousand Worlds, but innumerable Great Thousand Worlds.
5.4.2. Time
The Buddha taught: All conditioned dharmas, any dharma, are governed by 4 periods: Succession, Remaining, Disintegration, and Emptiness.
The world, too, cannot escape the law of: Citadel, Hold, Hoai, No, that. But because in the dharma world there are not many worlds, so the success and stay of one world is the destruction, not of another world, just like that, it rotates endlessly. If we take a separate World to measure time, we will have the following numbers:
Each World has 4 periods or 4 Middle kalpas. Each middle kalpa has 20 minor kalpas. Each minor kalpa has 16 million years. Thus, a World from creation to destruction must go through: 4 x 20 x 16 = 1280 million years. But since we know that there are as many worlds as the sands of the Ganges, the existence of the Dharma Realm is inconceivable for a long time.
Here, we do not mean to state the above numbers to accurately measure the vastness and permanence of the Dharma Realm, we only aim to give them an idea of infinity. , only beginningless infinity of the Dharma Realm. This concept is also supported by science today. (According to the article on Cosmology of the Most Venerable Thich Thien Hoa in General Buddhism, course V, page 374).
6. Buddhist concept of God and Soul
In the book The Buddha and his Teachings by Venerable NARADA, the Abbot of Vajirarama Temple in Ceylon, belonging to Theravada Buddhism, is a professor at the University of Ceylon, was given by Mr. Pham Kim. Khanh translated into Vietnamese literature, with the following excerpts:
" The Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation should not be confused with the theory of reincarnation or reincarnation of some other belief system, because Buddhism does not recognize the transmigration of an eternal soul by a Spirit created or emanated from a Great Soul". (page 357)
"I cannot determine the beginning of the life-stream of beings. The origin and evolutionary schedule of the universe, the Buddha did not mention. (page 367)
"In the entire Tripitaka, there is absolutely no reference to the existence of a Creator. Many times the Buddha denied an eternal Soul. He absolutely does not accept that there is a Creator, whether in the form of a power or a being. Although the Buddha never placed a superhuman God above man, some scholars assert that he did not specifically address that important controversial issue. (page 368)
"Pure Buddhism does not advocate having the souls of the dead temporarily reside in one place, waiting to find a suitable place to reincarnate." (page 419)
"Apart from Name and Form, Mind and Matter, which are the two constituents of sentient beings, Buddhism does not claim to have an eternal soul or a permanent self that man has mysteriously received from an unknown origin. equally mysterious. A soul that is eternal, must be immutable, before and after. If the soul, which is assumed to be the quintessence of man, is eternal, then the soul cannot arise or perish, and we cannot explain why "from the beginning this soul was different." very far away from the other soul". (page 422).
"Buddhism teaches a kind of Psychology in which there is no soul. Buddhism holds that we are a composite of the two components of Name and Form, Mind and Matter, and that these two components are in an ever-changing state like an eternal stream. (page 427).
"If there is no soul, as a mere unchanging entity, then what is reincarnated? (page 433). In the Great Condition Sutra belonging to the School of Buddhist Sutras, there is a sentence: Ananda, if Consciousness does not enter the mother's belly, can name and form form in the mother's belly?". So what goes to rebirth, according to Buddhism, is: Consciousness or Consciousness (This is the concept of Theravada Buddhism, belonging to the Hinayana).
Note: Of all the religions in the World, only Buddhism does not recognize God and denies the existence of the Soul in every human being.
According to the above quote, Consciousness or Consciousness is not a soul, but Buddhist dictionaries both define Consciousness or Consciousness as a soul.
- Buddhist Study Dictionary of the Central Union : Divine Consciousness (L'ême): The soul. The great human being has two parts: the body and the soul. Because the soul is mysteriously active, it cannot be discussed in the end, so it is called Divine Consciousness.
- Sino-Vietnamese Buddhist Dictionary of the Vietnamese Buddhist Church : Divine Consciousness: The mind of sentient beings is inconceivably magical, so it is called Divine Consciousness, also known as Soul.
Buddhist scriptures
Tripitaka
During the 45 years of preaching until the death of Shakyamuni Buddha, the Buddha's teachings were not recorded on paper, but the Buddha's disciples just memorized them and passed them on to each other orally.
Three months after the Buddha's death, in the eighth year of King Aisha's reign, the first Patriarch, Ma-Ha-Ka-yapa, summoned 500 Arahants who were the great disciples of the Buddha, and gathered them together. for the first time at Rājāgaha to recall the precious Buddha's words, record them into scriptures, and pass them on to future generations.
Mr. A-Nan, the fortunate disciple who was always beside the Buddha, heard all of the Buddha's teachings, so Mr. A-Nan was nominated to narrate the teachings; Mr. Upali reported on the Precepts, and the two took turns answering questions about the Abhidhamma, the supreme teaching of the Buddha. It was the first time the sutras were gathered together, concentrating all of the Buddha's teachings and clearly rearranging them into 3 Tripitakas, called the Tripitaka, including: The Tripitaka, the Vinaya, and the Abhidhamma.
Because of the tendency to distort the Buddha's teachings, there were two more collections of the sutras after that: 100 years later and 236 years after the first. Then around 83 BC, during the reign of King Vatta Gāmani Abhaya of Ceylon, the great bhikkhus gathered for the fourth time the sutras at Aluvihara, a small hamlet 30 kilometers from Kandy on the island of Ceylon. Here, for the first time in the history of Buddhism, the Tripitaka was recorded in Pali on leaves.
Vinaya Pitaka (Vinaya Pitaka)
Vinaya is the Law, Pitaka is the basket to hold. Vinaya Pitaka is the basket containing the law, translated as Vinaya (Tibetan means containing).
The Vinaya is seen as a solid anchor to preserve the boat of the Church in the storms of history. Most of the Vinaya Pitaka deals with the Precepts and Rituals in the monastic life of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis.
The Vinaya consists of 5 books:
- Parajika Pali}
- Pācittiya Pali} Vibhanga
- Mahavagga Pali }
- Cullàvagga Pali }
- Parivara Pali } Khandaka
Sutta Pitaka (Sutta Pitaka)
The Sutta Pitaka contains the exhorting teachings that the Buddha gave to both the monastics and the lay people, and on various occasions, some lectures by great disciples such as the Sariputra , Muc Kieu Lien, Ananda, are also recorded in the Tripitaka and are respected as the Buddha's own teaching because it was accepted by the Buddha. Most of these discourses are aimed at the benefit of the bhikkhus, and deal with the noble life of the monastic. Many other articles are concerned with the material and spiritual progress of the layperson. The Tripitaka consists of 5 sets:
- School A-Ham, copy long sermons.
- Middle A-Ham, - - - - - long middle level.
- Little A-Ham, - - - - - - brief verse.
- Journal A-Ham, - - - - - - similar sutras.
Abhidhamma Pitaka
The Abhidhamma Abhidhamma is the most profound and important of all the teachings, because this is a sublime philosophical part, so it is also known as the Abhidhamma, the quintessence of Buddhism.
For some scholars, the Abhidhamma was not taught by the Buddha, but by learned monks later on. However, according to tradition, the Buddha taught the main part of this Tripitaka. Mr. Sariputta was honored to take the responsibility of explaining in detail. The Abhidhamma includes 7 volumes:
- Dhammasanghani: classification of teachings.
- Vibhanga: classifications.
- Dhātukathā: discourse on the elements.
- Puggala Pannatti: book of personalities.
- Kathàvatthu: points of controversy.
- Yamaka: book about couples.
- Patthâna: referring to causal correlation.
The Buddha only taught what was necessary to cleanse the mind to become pure, never discussing matters unrelated to his noble mission. The Buddha also did not teach all the things that the Buddha knew, only taught what is useful for the practice to relieve suffering for sentient beings.
One day, in a certain forest cluster, the Buddha took a handful of leaves in his hand, and then said to the monks, what the Tathagata teaches you can be compared to this handful of leaves, but what the Tathagata teaches you can be compared to this handful of leaves. Hybrid does not teach like all the leaves in the forest. Therefore, we should not insist that: What is recorded in the Tripitaka is YES, what is not recorded in the Tripitaka is NO.
Buddhist Sects
Two big branches
Buddhism to this day is divided into many sects, but in general, they are in 2 major branches of Buddhism:
- Theravada Buddhism (Theravada, Theravada).
- Mahayana Buddhism (Northern Buddhism).
Hinayana Buddhism
In Hinayana Buddhism, the temple only worships the Buddha, the monks wear yellow robes and make a living by begging for food.
The word vehicle, also read as Thang, means the vehicle, the vehicle carrying people to escape from the ceiling of suffering, to reach Nirvana. Tieu Thua is a small car that can only carry 1 person, which means that whoever cultivates can save himself.
When Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, Upa-Li (Upali) specialized in the Precepts, transmitted Buddhism to South India, forming the Mendicant sect, following Theravada Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism practices the same way as when Shakyamuni Buddha was still alive, avoiding crowded places, begging to support his body, meditating in meditation, often wearing a yellow robe and holding a bowl.
Theravada Buddhism thrived in Southern India, so called Theravada Buddhism, spread down the island of Ceylon ( Sri Lanka) to Burma, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
Theravada Buddhism casts Buddha statues and worships Buddha very seriously.
8.1.2. Mahayana Buddhism
In Mahayana Buddhism, in the temple worshiping the Three Jewels, monks wearing brown robes make a living by self-work and almsgiving of Buddhists.
Mahayana or Mahayana is a large vehicle that can carry many people, meaning that it is a cultivator, to save oneself first, then to save others, in order to attain Buddhahood together, ie self-realization and then enlightenment.
The Mahayana teachings were propagated by the First Patriarch Mahakasyapa. He is a great wisdom, good at debating, sublime wisdom, not attached to the Precepts.
Mahayana Buddhism thrived in Northern India, so called Northern Buddhism, spread through Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan.
Mahayana Buddhism worships Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and prays for blessings for sentient beings. Mahayana followers usually wear brown robes.
According to the general opinion, Mahayana or Hinayana Buddhism is the true tradition of the Buddha, but:
- The Theravada school, through its conservatism, retains many of the original characteristics of Buddhism, so the Theravada school is also known as Theravada Buddhism.
- The Mahayana school is liberal and innovative, so it has been integrated into the lifestyles of each nation.
Currently, the World Buddhist Organizations are trying to establish a Synthetic Buddhism, which blends Theravada and Mahayana.
According to Professor Takakusa Japan, he found that there are 11 major sects of Buddhism, belonging to both the great Mahayana and Hinayana branches, including:
1. Cau Xa Tong: Hinayana, also known as A-Bhikkhu-Dhammas.
2. Sincerity School: Hinayana does not discuss, also known as Nhat Thiet Khong Tong.
3. Dharma General Tong: Quyen Mahayana, also known as Duy Thuc Tong, Du Gia Tong.
4. Tam Luan Tong: Selling Mahayana.
5. Hoa Nghiem Tong: Mahayana Manchurianism.
6. Thien Thai Tong: Mahayana True General Luan.
7. Mantra Buddhism: Mahayana, Tantric Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism.
8. Zen Buddhism: Mahayana, Quan Mon.
9. Pure Land School: Mahayana, beliefs of Buddha Amitabha.
10. Nhat Lien Tong: Mahayana, New Phap Hoa.
11. New Law School: Mahayana, Law School.
Buddhist Patriarchs
When Shakyamuni Buddha attained Perfect Enlightenment, he preached his teachings for 45 years, converted the world, and, depending on the diseases of sentient beings, established a cure. The Buddha preached so much, but he said to himself: I have never said a word.
Thinking about that sentence, we know that, in addition to His sermon, He also gave a private transmission, not made a written statement. In the Linh Son Association, the Buddha held a branch of cotton and raised it for the audience to see. Everyone did not know what the Buddha meant, so they remained silent, only Ma-Ha Ka-lettuce smiled (called The Honoring flowers, Ca Diep vi Tieu). When the Buddha saw this, he said to Kashyapa that:
" I have the Right Dharma Eye Store, the Noble Mind of Nirvana. That Dharma door is extremely mysterious, without writing, and a special teaching is passed on to you. So you should take good care of it, and then pass it on to Ananda for posterity."
Phu Ke, Phu Y Bat, originally spread from here on. In Thien Truc country, Ma-Ha Ca-Diep was assigned Y Bat to be the First Patriarch by Buddha Shakyamuni, then passed Y Bat to An-Nan as the Second Patriarch. The next Patriarchs passed on to preserve the Buddha's teachings and harmonize the Church, until the 28th Patriarch, Dat-Ma. His Holiness the Dalai Lama, according to the prophecy, went to China to promote the Buddhadharma, then transmitted Y Bat to succeed 5 more Patriarchs in China, and ended with the 33rd Patriarch, Hui Neng. the transmission of the Patriarch's throne with Y Bat. Therefore, Hui Neng was the last Patriarch of Buddhism. Mr. Hue Neng passed away in the year 713 of the solar calendar, in the year 1257 according to the Buddhist calendar.
The following is a list of 33 Buddhist Patriarchs:
1. Ma-Ha Ca-Lettuce 15. Ca-Na-De-Ba
2. A-Nan 16. La-Hau-La-Da
3. Love-Na-Hoa-Tu 17. Sangha-Age-Nan-De
4. Up-Ba-Cuc-Da 18. Old-Jia-Sada
5. Devada 19. Cu-Ma-La-Da
6. Di-Dharma 20. Serpent-Spear
7. Madam-Tu-Mat 21. Lady-Tu-Table-Head
8. Buddha-Da-Nan-Des 22. Ma-Na-La
9. Resurrection-Da-Mat-Da 23. Hac-Lac-Na
10. Rape Venerable 24. Venerable Lion
11. Phu-Na-Da-Xa 25. Ba-Sa-Tu-Da
12. Ma Minh Dai Dai 26. Real-Like-Mat-Da
13. Ca-Trip-Ma-La 27. Prajna-Pharma-La
14. Nagarjuna 28. Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma, the 28th patriarch of India, brought Buddhism to China, so he became the First Patriarch of Chinese Buddhism, that is, the First Patriarch of Chinese Buddhism. He passed Y Bat back to Hue Kha.
29. Hue Kha: The Second Patriarch of Chinese Buddhism.
30. Tang San: Tam To - - - -
31. Dao Tin: Four Patriarchs - - - -
32. Hoang Nhan: Five Patriarchs - - - -
33. Hui Neng: The Sixth Patriarch - - - -
10. Indian Buddhism
During the period of Buddha Shakyamuni preaching until the Buddha's death, and the period following, Buddhism was very popular in India. Although the number of followers of Buddhism is not as large as that of Brahmanism, the classes of kings and nobles are very devoted to Buddhism.
During the reign of King Ashoka (274-222 BC), the king was very devoted to Buddhism, so he established a very sublime morality. The king cut the branches of the Bodhi tree and sent Prince Mahindra to the island of Ceylon to preach the Dharma there. During the reign of King Kachemir, the grandson of King Ashoka, was also very devoted to Buddhism, allowing the monks to freely spread the word. At that time, Buddhism was very popular.
After a few hundred years, the Indian king and mandarin did not like the class distinction of Buddhism anymore, so he began to denounce Buddhism and mistreat the monks. Brahminism regained its power and suppressed Buddhism. Buddhist monks and followers are tormented. They had to leave the country and find another place to practice and propagate.
Some followed the road to the North, to Tibet, Mongolia and China and formed the Northern school.
Some monks traveled by sea to Ceylon ( Sri Lanka) , through Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and formed the Theravada sect.
When the 28th Patriarch, Bodhidharma, came to preach to China, Buddhism in India was already in decline. In the Buddhist calendar year 1200, Buddhist followers in India became more and more thin, even the traces of Buddha were not taken care of, so they were destroyed over time.
Mahayana Buddhism is still prevalent only in Tibet, but when Tibet was occupied by Communist China, temples were destroyed, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama had to go into exile to India, and Buddhism was still in power. more dilapidated.
As for Theravada Buddhism, which is prevalent in Ceylon Island, it still retains the original Buddhist tradition.
Sarnath, also known as the relic garden in India, is considered the first place Shakyamuni Buddha came to preach after enlightenment. This first sermon is called the Zhuan Falun.
Before Bodhidharma came to China, Buddhism entered China many years ago.
- During the reign of Emperor Wu, Thai Tich was sent by the king as an envoy to Tay Truc (India) to request Buddhist scriptures to bring back to China, and asked for two high monks named Karma-Ma Dang and Chuc Phap-Lan Sang. Chinese. The king ordered the establishment of Bach Ma pagoda in Lac Duong to worship Buddha. From then on, Buddhist scriptures were translated into Chinese characters to spread among the people.
- During the reign of King Tan An De, monk Phap Hien went to India to study Buddhism for 16 years so that when he returned home he could promote Buddhism.
- During the reign of King Luong Vo De, Patriarch Bodhidharma went to China to propagate Buddhism, but the influence of Confucianism and Taoism is still very strong, so Buddhism has not been widely spread. The Patriarch had to sit in meditation facing the cliff for 9 years (Nine years of facing the wall). Thanks to Patriarch Bodhidharma, Zen Buddhism was gradually welcomed by the people and Bodhidharma became the First Patriarch (First Patriarch) of Chinese Buddhism. Zen Buddhism is more and more developed, inheriting 5 more Patriarchs, until the Sixth Patriarch Hue Neng, Zen Buddhism flourished, reaching the peak of brilliance, but also starting from the Sixth Patriarch Hue Neng, the throne of the Buddha The religion is not inherited by Y Bat anymore.
- During the Tang Dynasty, thanks to the holy monk Tran Huyen Trang who went to India to ask for sutras and study religion, when he returned, he brought the quintessence of Buddhism back to China, bringing back 700 sets of sutras and Su Huyen Trang tried to translate. After producing kanji for 670 sets, he passed away. Buddhism at this time was very respected, standing on a par with Taoism and Confucianism.
- After the Yuan Dynasty, no Saint Sangha was born to guide the Buddhadharma, so Buddhism gradually weakened.
- In the Ming Dynasty, in the 15th century, thanks to the Tibetan Lamas who went to Beijing to rearrange, remove superstitions, and correct the Buddhadharma. But this adjustment was not long and was not perfect, when the wave of material mechanical civilization from Europe began to spill over to Asia, making the Three Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism become more and more confused. , should be gradually ignored.
Christianity followed the footsteps of Europeans to penetrate Eastern countries, evangelize in strength, attract a significant number of followers, causing Buddhism and other religions to decline, although not completely. but there is no way to restore it.
Vietnamese Buddhism
Buddhism was introduced into Vietnam after Confucianism and Taoism. At that time, Indian monks went by sea to Vietnam, in the second Northern Chinese period, Vietnam was then named a District of China, named Giao Chi, then changed to Giao Chi. Chau, entered the country of Dong Ngo of Ngo Ton Quyen during the Three Kingdoms period. At that time Buddhism had not come to China. History also records a Chinese man named Mau Bac, who went down to Giao Chau to study Buddhism. But Buddhism in Vietnam at that time was still very simple.
- During the Early Ly Dynasty, King Ly Nam De, there was an Indian named Vinitaruci, transliterated as Bhikkhu-Ni-Da-Luu-Chi, a student of the Three Patriarchs, who brought Zen Buddhism to China. In Vietnam, Phap Van pagoda was established in Phu Dong village, that year was 580 C.E. Venerable Bhikkhuni Da Luu-Chi is considered the Patriarch of Vietnamese Buddhism. He passed away and passed the seal on to Phap Hien.
- During the 3rd Northern Domination period, during the Tang Dynasty in China, Chinese Buddhism at that time was very prosperous and spread to our country. Master Vo Ngon Thong from Guangzhou went to North Vietnam to establish Kien So Pagoda.
- King Dinh Tien Hoang was a very devout Buddhist, so he used Venerable Khun Viet as Thai Master in the court.
- During the Ly dynasty, King Ly Cong Uan was also very devout Buddhist, treated the monks, took money from the treasury to build temples, and cast bells. In June of the Year of the Horse (1018), the king sent officials Nguyen Dao Thanh and Pham Hac to China to request the Tripitaka to bring back to the country and store it in Dai Hung warehouse. Buddhism at this time was very prosperous, but still not as influential as Confucianism.
- During the Tran Dynasty, King Tran Thai Tong (1225-1258) opened the Tam Giao exam in 1247 to select talented people. Seeing that, Buddhism at that time was as important as Confucianism and Taoism.
The profound Buddhists of the Tran Dynasty were: Tu Dao Hanh, Khong Lo, Man Giac, and Lu An. These people are also the famous Confucian. Temples were built everywhere, people painted bells and worshiped the Buddhadharma. In particular, King Tran Nhan Tong soon abdicated the throne, entered the temple to practice, wrote down 20 scriptures with his own blood, and founded a Buddhist Zen sect called Truc Lam.
Dong Pagoda, Yen Tu, Quang Ninh, named Thien Truc Tu (Buddha Temple), is located at the highest peak of Yen Tu range (1,068m), built by a concubine of Lord Trinh in the late Le Dynasty (17th century). ). The pagoda was cast in bronze, originally just a small examination, one person could not get through. In the year of Canh Than 1740, during the reign of King Le Canh Hung, a storm blew up the roof of the pagoda, then the crooks removed the rest, leaving only traces of pits buried on the cliff.In the winter of 1930, Mrs. Bui Thi My from Long Hoa Pagoda recreated the Plain of Bronze-concrete Plain on a square stone over the head of the old Dong pagoda. In 1993, Mr. Nguyen Son Nam, an overseas Vietnamese living in the US, and overseas Buddhists had the heart to recast a new Dinh pagoda with a Dinh-shaped architecture in the shape of a blooming lotus, sitting on a bronze cave, kneeling on the bottom of a fish. stylized lotus, placed right next to the Plain of concrete temple built in the early twentieth century. In the spirit, the two pagodas are grouped into one block, preventing Buddhists and people from having to worship two Dong pagodas at the same time, implementing Decision No. 3325/QD-UB dated August 29, 2005 of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province Approving investment project on embellishment at Dong pagoda in Yen Tu relic area, Uong Bi city. On June 3, 2006 under the chairmanship of Doctor of Buddhist Studies Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet (Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet) and Dong Pagoda Project Management Board, With the merit of the crossroads at home and abroad, the bronze pagoda casting ceremony was started according to the design of architect Tran Quoc Tuan - Institute of Monuments Conservation. The pagoda was inaugurated on January 30, 2007, located on the top of the sacred mountain in the middle of two previously built pagodas.
King Tran Anh Tong also abdicated early to seek Dao. The king also pricked blood to write sutras, even the Queen and the concubines were bored with life and worried about meditation. King Tran Minh Tong issued money to mint 3 very large Buddha statues, set up many majestic pagoda scenes.
- During the Le Dynasty, Buddhism was no longer respected. Confucianists fiercely attacked Buddhism. The court suspended Confucianism, so Buddhism existed only among the people.
- During the time of Trinh Nguyen conflict, Buddhism in the North declined, but in the South, Lord Nguyen was very devoted to Buddhism, built Thien Mu pagoda in Hue in 1601.
Thien Mu Pagoda (Hue) was built in 1601 under the Nguyen Lords.
- During the Tay Son period, at the end of the 18th century, Buddhism in the Central region experienced a storm, Buddhist monks were sent to the army, temples were destroyed, and Buddhist followers were very dissatisfied.
- During the Nguyen Dynasty, Buddhism was still in a state of decline, unnoticed by the kings. Monks retreat into temples to meditate. At this time, Catholicism borrowed the power of the French flourished, began to overwhelm Buddhism and Confucianism, during the French colonial period in Vietnam. In the early 20th century, Buddhist monks launched the Buddhist Revival Movement, starting in Hue, establishing agencies to spread Buddhism, and publishing many scriptures.
All three regions of the South, Central and North have established the Buddhist Association for the purpose of:
- Correction of Zen subjects.
- Restoration of the Quirk.
- Increased education.
- Popularize Buddhist teachings in the national language.
On May 6, 1951, a National Buddhist Conference in Hue, including 50 representatives, decided to unify the Associations to form the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, and apply to join the World Buddhist Association.
World Buddhist Flag
"Thinking that Buddhism is a great spiritual organ, there is a great group living and operating in the boundless light of the Buddhadharma, then there should be a sign or color to represent the group. that body, in order to maintain and strengthen the common ideal. Just as Christianity takes the Cross as a symbol of faith; Each country has a national flag symbolizing the national soul, so Buddhism also needs a Buddhist flag to show the unified spirit of Buddhism.
Thinking for a long time, Colonel HSolcott (*) imagined a flag with what colors that Buddhists can recognize most easily, and every time seeing that flag, it is associated with the Buddha of boundless compassion. .
Thinking about this, Colonel Olcott immediately saw the glorious vision of the Buddha's aura appearing before his eyes. It's over! Colonel cheered, then worried again… Still knowing that the Buddha's aura has 6 colors, repeating the first 5 colors: Blue, yellow, orange, white, red, it's very easy. But how to find in this world the 6th color, because it is a combination of the previous 5 colors? Thinking of this, the Colonel went to consult with the Board of Directors of the Ceylon Buddhist Association and proposed to take the previous 5 colors, arrange them horizontally, sew them together to symbolize the 6th color of the Buddha's Aura, because there is no more any other way.
(*) Colonel Henri Steel Olcott, born in 1832 in New Jersey (USA), graduated from Colombia University, joined the army, promoted to Colonel. In 1874, the Colonel met Mrs. HP Blavatsky (Russian) in New York, together working in the defense of Spiritualism. In 1875, the two co-founded the Theosophical Society, based in New York. In 1878, the headquarters of the Society was moved to the city of Madras on the east coast of India. (See also: Theosophy).The Sri Lankan Buddhist Association, seeing that it made sense, conveyed Colonel Olcott's initiative to Most Venerable Hikkduwe Sumangala Thera in February 1886, and after His Holiness approved and declared that this flag was true to the spirit. The Buddhist flag was hoisted for the first time on Buddha's Birthday in 1886, and since then, gradually, the Buddhist flag has been raised throughout the Buddha land, regardless of Southern or Northern Buddhism.
This flag is the bright beginning of the unifying Buddhist spirit around the world.
At this point, I would like to leave the words to Venerable To Lien, author of the book "The Meaning of the Buddhist Flag" published by the North Vietnamese Buddhist Association (This passage is quoted in the 3rd edition of the Doc Tue Magazine). "Most people in Buddhist and Theosophical circles around the world know the name of Colonel Henri Steel Olcott. Colonel is a very ardent Buddhist, understands Buddhism and is very active in the propagation of the Buddhadharma. Thanks to the guidance and approval of Venerable Hikduwe Sumangala Thera, Director of Vidyodaya Parivena Buddhist College in Colombo, Colonel proposed the 6-color flag as the flag of Buddhism.
The six-color Buddhist flag has been recognized since 1885 and on Vesak Day that year, all over Ceylon celebrated the Buddhist High Flag Ceremony. But this is only talking about the Buddhist flag 66 years ago in Ceylon. Why is the 6-color Buddhist flag fluttering around the world today? On May 25, 1950, 26 delegations of 26 countries, including 129 delegates to the Buddhist Congress in Colombo, the capital of Ceylon, decided to adopt the 6-color flag as the World Buddhist flag. The Buddhist flag is a symbol of the unification of Buddhism in the world. The Buddhist flag symbolizes the faithfulness and peace-loving of Buddhists around the world.
Buddhist flag
The ranks of Buddhists, regardless of skin color, race, or political opinion, are closely united in the spirit of unity of will and action, under the shining aura of the Buddhas.
Biography of Buddha Shakyamuni
Shakyamuni Buddha, abbreviated as Shakyamuni Buddha, is known as Siddhartha Gautama, which means one who is satisfied, whose family name is Gotama, later changed to Sakya.
He was born on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, 623 B.C., in the Lumbini garden in the Kapilavastu capital of a small country in northern India, near the border. of Nepal. (Later, the World Buddhist Congress changed the Buddha's birthday to the full moon day on April 15 of the lunar calendar, and made Buddha's birthday on this April 15.)
He is the son of King Tinh San and Queen Ma-Da. After giving birth to the Prince 7 days ago, Madame Ma-Da died and returned to Cung Tien. Her younger brother, Maha Pajapati, was also married to King Tinh San, replacing her biological sister to raise Prince Si-Dat-ta to grow up. Prince Siddhartha grew up, enjoyed the perfect upbringing of kings, including the teachings of Brahmanism, in order to later ascend to the throne of his father to rule the country. The crown prince was an outstandingly intelligent person, so he became a talented martial artist.
When he was 16 years old, according to the custom at that time, the Crown Prince married Princess Da-Du-Da-La (Yasodhara), an aunt and uncle of the same age as him. During the 13 years of marriage after the wedding, the Crown Prince lived a completely royal life, unaware of the sufferings of the people outside the palace gates. One fine day, the Crown Prince and his attendants went on a trip outside the Royal Palace to see what was going on outside and to be able to interact with the people.
- He witnessed the hardships and hardships of human life, having to work hard to find a way to live. Sentient beings also fight and kill each other for life.
- Another day, the Prince also witnessed the sufferings such as old age, sickness, death, separation.
Then what is the happiness of human life? He thought that only his part was a Crown Prince, about to take the throne to rule the world, he was poor, he didn't need to worry, but old age, sickness, and death were inevitable. He silently resolved to find a way to solve human suffering.
By chance, he met a monk outside the gate of the Imperial Citadel, with a very relaxed posture, a carefree face. He approached the monk to ask questions, learned that the monk had left home to practice and study the Way, determined to eliminate all evil roots, with compassion to control desires, to protect sentient beings from being infected by the world, so that First is to liberate oneself, then to liberate sentient beings. Hearing that, Prince Siddhartha was very happy and determined to act like that monk. When King Tinh San saw that the Prince wanted to become a monk, the king was not satisfied, and found all ways to prevent the Prince.
In the meantime, Princess Gia-Du-Da-La, the wife of the Crown Prince had just given birth to a son. The prince did not feel happy about this, but lamented: "Another rope to bind." Therefore, King Pure Sanskrit named his grandson: Rahula (Rahula) [Rahula, Sanskrit means Obstacle].
On February 7, the year the Prince was 29 years old, while his wife, children and officers in the Imperial Citadel fell asleep after a jubilant singing party, the Prince called the servant Xa Nac to win the horse Kien Sac (Kanthaka). ) so that the Crown Prince escaped from the Royal Palace, went into the deserted mountains and forests, to find a teacher to study and practice. Thanks to Kien Sac horse running very fast, that night, it took the Prince across the Royal Palace, to a place far away from the capital. The prince himself cut his hair, removed the sword and gave it to Xa Nac, told him to bring it back to his father, and then gave the horse Kien Trac for him to ride back to the court.
The crown prince took off the crown prince's shirt in exchange for a hunter's dark robe, then quickly went into the mountain. King Tinh San sent the great gods to find the Crown Prince, and advised the Prince to return to the court, but could not shake the Prince's resolute will.
The prince went to a prominent Taoist, named Alarama Kalama, to ask for his education. He studied all of Alarama's teachings, but felt unsatisfied. He said goodbye and went to another famous Taoist, Uddaka Ramaputta, to learn the Way. He also learned all the teachings of Uddaka, but still could not see the ultimate goal. He realized that no one could lead him to accomplishment because those he had studied still had many entanglements, not yet freed from ignorance. Since then, the Prince did not look for a teacher to study the Way anymore, but went to a secluded place to think for himself to find out the truth.
He met a group of 5 monks led by Mr. Kieu Tran Nhu to support him so that he could practice an extremely ascetic practice (Brahmanism). After 6 years of ascetic practice like that, his body was only skin and bones, his breathing was weak, almost death was coming to him, but he still had not found the theory of the end. Suddenly, an old man approached the place where he was meditating, brought a lute, put on the strings, played a very beautiful piece, at the best time, the strings suddenly broke, the music stopped. He re-connected the strings, tuned them properly, then played again, and when he reached the best part, the strings broke again. Break and reconnect, connect and then rewind and play. Do 3 sets like this. The prince who was contemplating had to be angry and sober, lamenting that:
- The man who plays the guitar is good, but the string is too high, when the string is good, the string will break, the good thing must be out of smell, which is a pity.
The old man replied,
- My harp is like your tutu. My strings go up too high, so when it's good, it breaks, then the beauty of the sound is not useful at all; As for His practice, if the mysterious sublime achieves immortality, it must die with Him, but what is useful for the world. I'm sorry too.
When the old man finished speaking, he immediately took the instrument away (In the scriptures, it is said that he was an incarnation of the Buddha who came to warn the Crown Prince). The Prince thought about Ong Tieu's words forever, immediately became aware, knowing that he was wrong in the ascetic way, which caused intellectual decline and mental fatigue. He immediately gave up asceticism, just like six years ago, he definitely gave up the life of profit.
He recalled his father's Ha Dien festival in the past, while everyone was doing the ceremony, he came under the shade of the brooch, meditated, and obtained the First Meditation. He remembered and clearly saw that that was the way to enlightenment. That is the path of cultivation, not living according to benefits, but also not being too austere, called the Middle Way.
He definitely renounced the ascetic practice. He tiredly walked to the bank of the Ni-Lien-zen river, got down to take a shower, then went up, and exhaustedly fell into a tree unconscious. Fortunately at that time, a good woman brought a bowl of powdered milk to come and offer it, saw a monk lying at the base of a tree, she immediately helped her up, then offered a bowl of milk. The crown prince received it, drank it all, and then he intended to wake up again, seeing his health gradually restored, his spirit began to be refreshed. He thanked the good girl (her name was Suyata), then he went to a big Bodhi tree, luxuriant branches and leaves, spread grass as a mattress, meditated, and took a great oath: "If you don't attain the Way , Definitely don't leave this seat."
After 49 days and nights of meditation, he immediately attained enlightenment, knew the cause of human birth and death, and found a way to free sentient beings from the cycle of suffering. He attained Unsurpassed Righteous Enlightenment. At that time, the Prince was 35 years old, taking the Buddha's name: Shakyamuni.
Buddha Shakyamuni has not yet decided to spread his teachings, because he thinks that the Tathagata has had a hard time realizing it. People in the world still carry a heavy load of greed and hatred, which cannot be understood, because the teaching goes against the current of craving, is very profound and difficult to perceive. God was concerned that Shakyamuni Buddha would not bring his teachings to save lives, so he ordered the Brahma King to ask the Buddha to open his heart to spread the Dharma.
Shakyamuni Buddha accepted and declared: "The door of birth and death has been opened for sentient beings. Let those who have ears to listen put their trust." Meanwhile, the group of Mr. Kieu Tran Nhu of 5 people, seeing that the Prince gave up the ascetic practice of forcing his body, eating and drinking again, thinking that the Prince had returned to a beneficial lifestyle, the 5 of them were disappointed and abandoned the Crown Prince. , did not support Him anymore, and they went to the Garden of Deer.
Shakyamuni Buddha thought to himself, I also feel sorry for these 5 men, because they have followed and supported the Buddha for a long time, nearly 6 years. Now that he has attained Unsurpassed Bodhi, he should also reach the level of these 5 men first. The Buddha used miracles to find out where this group of 5 was, then he knew that he was in the Deer garden of Benares. Buddha immediately went there. Group 5 He intended not to bow down to him because he thought he had passed away, but when the Buddha approached, with his majesty full of compassion, the 5 Taoists changed their attitude and bowed to the Buddha.
Buddha Shakyamuni preached to 5 He heard the Dhamma of the Four Noble Truths. This is the first sermon that the Buddha gave to 5 people to hear, all 5 immediately enlightened, attained Arahantship, became 5 Bhikkhus, the first disciple of the Buddha. This is the first time, the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma, speaking the Four Noble Truths, the basic teaching of Buddhism.
Starting from here, there are enough Buddhist Triple Gems: Buddha Shakyamuni is the Buddha Treasure,the Dhamma is the Four Noble Truths the Dharma Treasure, the first 5 Bhikkhu disciples of the Buddha are the Sangha. It was the world's first Three Jewels.
Shakyamuni Buddha and 5 monks went around preaching the Dharma, saving thousands of monastic disciples, all kinds of people from all walks of life in India, regardless of rich or poor, rich or poor, mandarin or mandarin. King. The important events in the Buddha's preaching work are:
- The 3 brothers Ca-Diep-Ba who are practicing the religion of worshiping the Fire God. These three men had 1000 disciples, taking refuge in the Buddha.
- Two Mr. Sāriputta and Muc Kieu-Lien, formerly two scholars of the Luc Master sect, have been converted.
- The King of Qin-Ba-Sa-La of Ma-Ket-Da. The King believed in Buddhism and encouraged the people to take refuge in the Buddhadharma. The king built a spacious vihara in the inner city to invite Buddha and monks to preach regularly.
- Leveled by the Lonely Wealthy Rich. This man established a high and solemn Vihara, called Ky Tho Level-Colonial Vihara, for the Buddha and monks to preach.
- The Buddha's father was King Pure Sanskrit and the Buddha's relatives.
Buddha Shakyamuni selected the 10 most outstanding disciples of Buddhism, listed below:
1. Sariputra 2. Muc Kieu Lien
3. Big Ca Lettuce 4. Ananda
5. A Na Luat 6. Phu Lau Na
7. Subhuti 8. Upali Ly
9. Fried Chicken 10. Rahu La.
The Buddha founded the Bhikkhuni Church:
After King Tinh San died, Queen Maha Pajapati (who is the adoptive mother, but also the biological aunt of the Buddha) begged the Buddha for women to be ordained. The Buddha immediately refused without giving the reason. Maha Pajapati made such requests three times, but the Buddha refused. Mr. Ananda, also 3 times used all the ways to beg the Buddha for women to be ordained, especially for the Buddha's adoptive mother, but the Buddha still firmly refused. On the 4th time, the Buddha accepted. The reason for the Buddha's refusal was:
"In the Vinaya Pitaka, there are some words of the Buddha written like this: My Dharma-rectification foundation should have remained in the world for 1000 years or more, but because I have ordained women, the Dharma-rectification foundation has been reduced. , only lasted 500 years". (Excerpt from the Buddhist Dictionary of Doan Trung Con, page 376, volume 1: Fa-rectification).
Accordingly, we see that, if women are allowed to leave home to study Buddhism and practice Buddhism and establish a Bhikkhuni Sangha, the Buddha's righteous Dharma will soon be reformed, lasting only 500 years, instead of being 1000 years if women are not accepted as monastic. But before the sincere determination of the adoptive mother, with the compassion and love of the Buddha, the Buddha did not have the heart to leave the female sex without establishing the Bhikkhuni Church, even though he knew that this was for his Dharma-rectification period. Buddha halved, lasted only 500 years.
"When the Buddha established the Bhikkhuni Order, he predicted the consequences and noted:
"Ananda, if Women are not allowed to leave the world to close themselves to a homeless life within the framework of the Dhamma and Discipline announced by the Tathagata, then the monastic life and the sublime Dharma will be Long-term survival. But when women have been allowed to live a homeless life, themonastic life and the sublime Dharma only last half of the time " (Excerpt from Buddha and Dharma, by Venerable Narada, page 152).
After the Buddha established the Bhikkhuni Sangha, Madam Maha Pajapati attained Arahantship and was listed as one of the most experienced nobles, not inferior to the Southern sect. Princess Da-Du-Da-La (wife of Crown Prince Si-Dat-Ta) also ordained a monk and attained Arahantship. Among the bhikkhus, Lady Ya-Du-Dà-La was at the head of those who attained Great Divine Power, and she passed away at the age of 78.
The Buddha traveled everywhere in Northern India preaching the Dharma for 45 years before entering Nirvana, at the age of 80. In the previous Linh Son Association, the Buddha chose Ma-Ha Kasyapa as his successor to control the Church.
The Buddha said to Ma-Ha-Ka-yapa: "I have the Righteous Dharma Eye Store, the wonderful Nirvana of the Mind, the mysterious Dharma-door, without any writing, apart from the teachings that are personally transmitted, and now I entrust it to you. Thou shalt well keep this righteous dharma, pass it on forever, don't let it end, and pass it on to Ananda later." Then the Buddha said in verse:
"The original French law is not lawful, the French law is not legal, the Kim deputy is lawless, the French law is lawless".
Meaning : The original dharma is not dharma, the dharma is neither dharma nor is dharma, now when giving no dharma, each dharma where each dharma. Upon hearing the news that the Buddha had entered Nirvana, Ma-Ha-Ka-yapa immediately went to the city of Ko-Thi-Na to cremate the Buddha's body, taking the Buddha's relics and dividing them into eight parts. distributed to 8 places, built a worship tower:
1. Verse-Thi-Na 2. Pa-Ba
3. Price-Lao 4. La-Ma-Giant
5. Ca-Pi-La-Vi
7. Vajrayana 8. Ma Kiet-Da.
From the decline of Indian Buddhism, think about Vietnamese Buddhist culture
… It is said that Buddhism lost track in India from the eighth to twelfth centuries, because the kings of that time did not like the classless doctrine of Buddhism, as it was detrimental to the The position of kings, they destroyed, leveled the relics and killed the Buddhist monks, the remaining Buddhist monks had to wander abroad. Brahminism (Hinduism) was restored in favor of the monarchy. But for the writer of this article, Buddhism in India did not simply decline because of such vandalism, but because of the people who still worship the Buddha every day...
Buddhism is likened to bundles of seed sown in an Indian field. The young seedlings were uprooted and transplanted in many other fields and produced a lot of grain-laden rice fields, but in the original field, the seedlings did not yield any seeds. Thinking like that is also somewhat superficial, because in fact, the Buddhist view of life is so deeply ingrained in the lives and habits of Indians that it makes it difficult for people in a hurry to recognize it. People call it a deep culture, and the surface development of Indian Buddhism is now almost extinct. The owners of the grain-laden rice fields (such as the Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Ceylon, Burmese, Tibetans...) and the new breeders in their fertile soil (such as other countries) Europe and America) are bringing the seeds of Buddhism back to the Indian fields.
Before I went to India, a friend told me: "Why go to India! There's nothing left of Buddhism in that country." But when I was leisurely traveling around the South-North India regions, I suddenly realized that there is still no exact definition of India, because India is a country with many layers of culture in the same space and time. time.
If you try to walk in an afternoon in the ancient city of Benares (Vanares) or Calcutta, you will feel extremely interesting, when on the same street along the banks of the Ganges (Ganga), the ancient cities next to ultra-modern buildings, while below are still people living a vegetative life like thousands of years ago. On the road are intact tram tracks with horizontal and vertical trains dating from the British colonial period, while underground is a modern metro system interlaced. The rich guys with big bellies honked the horns of cars carrying girls in Muslim clothes covered with black veils; Hindu hermits waved the water of the Ganges toward the sun to pray; Sick boys with long hair pulled up by a scarf; cows swam across the crowded streets; Backpackers wade into shops to buy Kasia silks woven by primitive medieval looms; the people pulling the handcart, the cart had only two levers and two wheels larger than the wheel of an ox; and even the Jainism priests blatantly naked on the street… All in the same space, at the same time… India!
From what one can see, it is true that Buddhism is no longer in India, apart from the Four Hearts (four important Buddhist relics) and the caves of South India. But a closer look reveals that Buddhism has profoundly influenced the lives of the Indian people. In the third century B.C.E., there was a king named Asoka who respected Buddhism and decreed important laws. A lot of Buddhist influence through this king is still present, such as being very limited in not destroying trees, not shooting and killing animals, setting up drinking water tanks for passersby along the streets... Today, in the middle of the capital, Delhi, there is still a patch of primeval forest, and people respect trees so much that on a stretch of highway there are still old trees blocking the middle of the road without being cut down, birds and animals still live among them. mixed with people, Pedestrians without money, even though they travel around the city and countryside, are not afraid of thirst. It is about the material culture, while the intangible culture of Buddhism in the life of the Indian people is very profound such as: the attitude towards death, the gentleness of peace, and the deep belief in life. Spirituality, contempt for material things, vegetarianism, abstaining from alcohol and meat, etc., are all mixed with Hindu culture, making it difficult for us to recognize the colors of Buddhism. Besides, the daily meals of the Indian people are vegetarian rice, and every restaurant in India is also sour under the signboard with a sentence Veg and Nonveg (Vegetarian and non-veg). Vegetarian food is mostly for locals, salty food for tourists. My biggest surprise is that when I go into any restaurant in India, there are vegetarian options available. and the intangible culture of Buddhism in the lives of the Indian people is very profound such as: the attitude before death, the gentleness of peace, the deep belief in the spiritual life, the contempt for the material, the liking for the material. Vegetarianism, abstaining from alcohol and meat, etc., are all mixed with Hindu culture, making it difficult for us to recognize the colors of Buddhism. Besides, the daily meals of the Indian people are vegetarian rice, and every restaurant in India is also sour under the signboard with a sentence Veg and Nonveg (Vegetarian and non-veg). Vegetarian food is mostly for locals, salty food for tourists. My biggest surprise is that when I go into any restaurant in India, there are vegetarian options available. and the intangible culture of Buddhism in the lives of the Indian people is very profound such as: the attitude before death, the gentleness of peace, the deep belief in the spiritual life, the contempt for the material, the liking for the material. Vegetarianism, abstaining from alcohol and meat, etc., are all mixed with Hindu culture, making it difficult for us to recognize the colors of Buddhism. Besides, the daily meals of the Indian people are vegetarian rice, and every restaurant in India is also sour under the signboard with a sentence Veg and Nonveg (Vegetarian and non-veg). Vegetarian food is mostly for locals, salty food for tourists. My biggest surprise is that when I go into any restaurant in India, there are vegetarian options available. abstain from alcohol and meat…, all mixed with Hindu culture, making it difficult for us to recognize the Buddhist colors. Besides, the daily meals of the Indian people are vegetarian rice, and every restaurant in India is also sour under the signboard with a sentence Veg and Nonveg (Vegetarian and non-veg). Vegetarian food is mostly for locals, salty food for tourists. My biggest surprise is that when I go into any restaurant in India, there are vegetarian options available. abstain from alcohol and meat…, all mixed with Hindu culture, making it difficult for us to recognize the colors of Buddhism. Besides, the daily meals of the Indian people are vegetarian rice, and every restaurant in India is also sour under the signboard with a sentence Veg and Nonveg (Vegetarian and non-vegetarian). Vegetarian food is mostly for locals, salty food for tourists. My biggest surprise is that when I go into any restaurant in India, there are vegetarian options available.
Hinduism is considered the state religion of India, with a tradition dating back thousands of years, even before the birth of Buddha. When he was still a prince, the Buddha also studied the Four Vedas of the Brahmins. Some conceptions of the Vedas and the Upanisads are still imprinted in the Buddhist scriptures. After the Buddha attained enlightenment and taught in India, the Indians, especially the Brahmins, considered the Buddha as a god in their beliefs. And people still worship Buddha every day like a god. While the Brahmin's concept is self-existent, this world is created by Brahman, the Buddha advocates no-self, all dharmas are dependent on birth. Then people distilled all the quintessence of Buddhist culture - except the concept of Self - into their traditional culture, and people are no longer interested in what is Buddhist. Buddhism assimilated into them, especially the outer form, gradually being Hinduized. Even in important Buddhist relics such as the Four Hearts, people also build a Hindu temple in front, they bring Linga in front of the Buddha's temple, and then every day, many people flock to pray. and worship Buddha according to Hindu concept.
Culture has great power, especially when culture is maintained in a conservative way, no force can destroy it. Buddhist relics destroyed by Islam and kings can be rebuilt, but the Buddhist culture has been Hinduized, it is difficult to recognize.
From Indian Buddhist culture, related to Vietnamese Buddhist culture, it seems that, with what one can see, Vietnamese Buddhism is also one of the strongest Buddhist countries in the world. In Vietnam currently, more than 70% of the population is Buddhist or self-identified as Buddhist. According to Buddhism, there are more than 20,000 monks and pagodas present throughout the market and countryside. The Vietnamese people say there are more than 4,000 years of civilization, but what is still recorded is actually just over 2,000 years. And about that time there was the presence of Buddhism. Without the Buddhist culture deeply ingrained in the Vietnamese people, the Vietnamese nation would have been rigidly Confucianized by 1,000 years of Northern domination. Even without a Buddhist culture with its capacity for harmony and flexibility, the map of Vietnam might well have belonged to the North. It is not an exaggeration to say that, because we have been dominated by them, we use their written language and live according to their human outlook. But many of our nation's great victories in the North were attributed to the dynasties, Buddhist kings, or kings who ruled the country under the advice of Buddhist monks. That is history without any doubt. Therefore, the preservation and promotion of Buddhist culture is an important job to maintain and develop the national culture and the survival of the nation. That preservation and promotion must be in a long-term strategy, both macro and micro, with the consciousness of the leaders themselves and the people.
With modern Vietnamese Buddhist culture, if viewed from the decline of Indian Buddhism, there must be many things for us to ponder. We are proud to be a strong Buddhist country, but in fact it is strong on the surface, and the cultural depth has gradually dried up due to many subjective and objective reasons. Without restoring and promoting cultural depth, Vietnamese Buddhism will eventually perish because of those who are worshiping or promoting Buddhism. In terms of material culture, represented by architecture and Buddhist relics, compared to India alone, we are just a bare branch in the middle of the moor compared to the rich forest of India. . In addition to the Four Hearts, which is considered a great cultural heritage of mankind, India also has countless important sites throughout South India such as the Great Stupa of Sanchi, the Buddhist cave complex in Aurangabad (such as Ajanta, Ellora). , Hyderabad, Mumbai, Puné, Nagajruna etc… These are the wonders of the world created over two thousand years, over many generations, preserving countless works of painting, sculpture and especially the converging spirit. from the Great Patriarch of Buddhism. Every day, millions of tourists from all over the world come to worship, pray and visit. Tourism in India is spiritual tourism. Pilgrimage is the return to the holy lands of the soul.
What surprised me the most was that the most tourists visiting India's Buddhist monuments were from one of the world's economic powerhouses: Japan. Japan is like a small boat in the middle of the ocean, they understand better than anyone that when a boat is tilted to one side, it will sink. So on the one hand they develop the economy, on the other hand, they create conditions for people to travel spiritually around the world, absorbing the essence of humanity to enrich their culture. It was Suzuki, a world-famous Japanese scholar who once said: Society is like a three-legged chair, if the legs of the economic and scientific-technical chair are stretched, while the two legs of the chair of morality and spirituality and As the fine traditions and customs become shorter and shorter, the chair will lose its balance and will fall.Those are valuable lessons on the national cultural development strategy. In Vietnam, the remaining thousands of years of Buddhist architecture are only a few, partly due to fire and war, partly destroyed by humans. Nowadays people also have a conservation consciousness, but not purely for the sake of Buddhism. Buddhist culture cannot be promoted if the purpose of preservation and promotion is outside the Buddhist purpose.
Every day, millions of Vietnamese people come to pagodas to worship Buddha, but how many people do they worship Buddha in the spirit of Buddhism? Every day, thousands of people visit Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, but few people know that there is an architecture that is considered a symbol of Vietnamese architecture dating back to the Ly Dynasty - One Pillar Pagoda - standing humbly. , hidden and small between the museum and Uncle Ho's Mausoleum? Information age books are rampant, but what is written about Buddhist culture or spiritual ethics is like salt in the sea. That is not to mention the attack from many sides, the unselective acceptance of Western culture is gradually destroying the indigenous culture, withering love, and eroding humanity.
Published under Blog on 19 June, 2021.
Latest update on 08 August, 2021.