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Looking the Spring through the Contemplative Eye

Thích Trừng Sỹ


According to the conventional time, twenty-four hours are a day-night, seven days are a week, four weeks are a month, twelve months are a year. Counting from January 1st to December 31st, we end an old year, we begin a new year, we add my new age, new vitality, new peacefulness, new welfare and new reunion with our relatives and lovers in our life.  

We know in scientific society today, we can live up to about one hundred spring ages; one hundred spring ages are an even and round number, most of us that hear also like also want, are also joyfully and also cheerful, as long as we live healthily, live youngly, live beautifully, live peacefully and happily for ourselves and the others only.

When young, every time the spring comes, we each are also happy and also joyful. Happy is because we who are received money as a New Year’s Day present are worn new clothes, are eaten enough kinds of cakes, jams such as cylindrical glutinous rice cake, snow-flaked cake (sprinkled with powered sugar), green bean cake, candied ginger, sweet potato jam, dry preserved squash, etc. As Buddhists on the occasion of the beginning of the spring, we who follow our parents go to Pagoda to pay homage to the Buddha, to the Dharma Patriarch, Virtuous and Compassionate Quan The Am Mother or Avalokiteśvara Mother to protect and support us and our relatives and lovers in the family a new year of plentiful health, peaceful body and mind, eradicated disease, destroyed disasters, the wholesome lead to us, the unwholesome are banished from us. 

Next, we go to the house of clan worship to congratulate ancestors, two parental and maternal sides, who still live in the advancement of spirituality and virtue and who died gently and salvagedly. We visit the grave to pray for the deceased born in a realm of peacefulness. We visit our relatives like aunt, uncle, maternal uncle, maternal uncle’s wife, father’s sister, mother’s sister, etc. to wish everyone riches and honours. And finally, we go out with friends hither and thither to confide in, to share, and to converse with two or three of us, etc. If congenial to each other, we can choose a good day and month to sow the seeds and to fruit this year. If those conditions gather insufficiently yet, we can make another appointment of better chance. It is the view of the spring when we remain young, this view until growing up, we can comprehend our parents’ good and beautiful teachings.

The look of the second Spring is the look of assembly and reunion. According to Vietnamese tradition, every year ends, Tết – Lunar New Year’s Day comes, the remaining days of the last month of the year, in spite of what to do, where to live, we always take advantage of returning and taking refuge in our family to help parents, spouses, siblings and children. We help our family in cleaning verdigris of the copper lamps, sweeping out the cobweb, placing fruits on the altar, making cakes and jamps, etc. Gathering and serving only some of those things are also enough to make our family joyful and happy, never mind, we who are members of our family together attend a meeting to learn from experiences of doing business in last year; a good thing we continue maintaining and developing, a non-good thing we bravely eliminate, simultaneously we show us a direction of doing business more clearly and steadily for new year.        

The above is concerned with people who work near home, in the morning go, in the evening come back, next, we mention people to settle or to work in a far-away place like in other cities, other provinces, other countries, etc. Those who are far from home always have the same thought in common, look near forward to the new days of the beginning of the year, wish to have a free chance to go back to a family reunion, visit homeland, village, visit a round and round path, banyan tree, water well, boat in the olden days. If this year there is not yet a suitable chance of returning to celebrating New year, then the year after and the year after next we shall court and try to go back to celebrate New Year Festival once. As the expatriate Vietnamese, most of everyone have the same thought of wish like this. Carrying out so, members easily build their own family of reunion, peacefulness and happiness.      

Beside a family of reunion, we have one more Pagoda of reunion, Vihara of reunion, monastery of reunion, etc. As the Forthgoing Ones, living in the Community of the Sangha, we have many various levels of cultivation, learning, religious age.[1]There is someone learning Buddhist Studies at local school in the home province, there is someone learning Buddhist Studies in the neighbouring province, there is someone learning Buddhist Studies at home, there is someone learning Buddhist Studies abroad, etc. There is someone having five religious ages, there is someone having fifteen religious ages, twenty-five religious ages, fifty religious ages, etc. Although practitioners’ levels of Buddhist Studies and religious ages are different, every person’s ideals and purposes of helping themselves and saving life are not different. Because of the same ideals and purposes, the Forthgoing Ones easily build their own nobly spiritual life for themselves.        

To desire to do so, we should rely on national Tết holiday to have the opportunity to meet and reunite the Temple and Dharma friends in many different places from the four directions and together help our Master, brotherhood, sisterhood to do single, friendly, daily and practical things like gardening, watering, arranging flowers, placing fruits, etc. Because the Buddhist Dharma that depends on the worldly Dharma forms, exists and develops, therefore, the opportunity of Tết holiday is the favourable opportunity for master and disciples, elder brothers and younger brothers, the Forthgoing Ones and the Unforthgoing Ones to meet, to confide in, to converse with one another about the Dharma, to congratulate one another on advancing in years and to share the experiences of cultivation and learning in last year; a good experience we continue learning, maintaining and developing, a non-good experience we determine to remove gradually, and together map out a new going direction, a useful going direction, a practically peaceful and happy going direction for the many.

In traditional Buddhism, apart from the traditional Tết holidays of the people, we have more virtuous Tết holidays, spiritual Tết holidays, joyful Tết holidays, originating from the days of the Buddha’s children’s Retreat Reason of during the three months, especially the Forthgoing Ones. Even the Unforthgoing Ones can also charge their spiritual energy into virtuous battery on these holy Tết holidays. It is therefore that the Unforthgoing Ones are together happy with the Forthgoing Ones’ happiness, happy is because of seeing the former maintain the Dharma path, happy is because of seeing the former and the others together cultivate, together go on the path of upper direction and good direction, and together go on the path of enlightenment and spiritual emancipation.

Indeed, the Forthgoing One has the responsibility to learn the path,[2] understand it, practice it, spread it, protect it and enjoy the fragrance of the peaceful flavour of the path, then the Unforthgoing One also has the duty to learn the Dharma, understand it, practice it, propagate it, maintain it, and enjoy the fragrance of the Dharma flavour. In the respect of maintaining and developing the Dharma path, the Unforthgoing One and the Forthgoing One have the common purposes of cultivating and gathering flowers and fruits of authentic peacefulness and blissfulness for themselves and for the others right in this life.

It is for the above meanings that the Forthgoing One is exampled as the left wing and the left eye of a bird, the Unforthgoing One is exampled as the right wing and the right eye of bird. The bird has enough eyes, it can fly high, fly far, soar up the immense air to see far to look widely and to enjoy vast space, it is very happy, very comfortable and very light-hearted and carefree. If bird only has a wing and an eye, it walks or skims along the ground, it sees something unclear, it looks at something non-far and non-wide, certainly, it will be caught and slaughtered. 

In this case, bird used as metaphor for Buddhism has enough two Forthgoing and Unforthgoing wings and eyes. Buddhism has enough these two wings and eyes, it can go to the future very far and very steadily, especially it can bring authentic peace, peacefulness and bliss to living things and living beings. If not having enough one of those two wings, one of those two eyes, Buddhism goes to the future not far and unsteadily.

Bird needs to have enough both of its eyes and wings to see to fly, Buddhism needs to have enough two kinds of the Forthgoing Ones and the Unforthgoing Ones to maintain Buddhism existing long in this world. Therefore, two kinds of these persons that take their vows integrate with one another, support one another, vow to light up the torch of the Dharma, vow to light up that of right confidence, vow to light up that of love, vow to light up that of Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and vow to light up the torch of Right Concentration. When Buddhism is together supported by two kinds of these persons very intimately, Buddhism, very firm with the time and space, is spread widely all over the world.   

Above, we read and know that the Forthgoing One is exampled as the wing of the left side and the eye of the left side of bird, the Unforthgoing One is exampled as the wing of the right side and the eye of the right side of bird. The left side and the right side temporarily divided thus is easily to remember and easily to understand. The left side toward the Forthgoing One is the upstream side of life. Unlike the Unforthgoing One, the Forthgoing One who leads a non-family life leisurely and freely, spares much time to cultivate to learn and help the Buddhist things for very many persons, only knows to rely on nature, on the moon the star, on the Community of cultivation – learning, and on a Dharma realm of living beings, has a part in protecting the environment and the ecology for the planet. In this case, upstream of life of the Forthgoing Ones that does not mean against life means to integrate with life to help life to bloom fragrantly.      

Learning history of Buddhism, we clearly know when Sakyāmuni Buddha, the historic Buddha, is still Siddharta Boddhisattva, who cultivates ascetically and mortifyingly is nothing but skin and bone, realizes the way of this asceticism does not bring the result of benefit to himself. Wanting to have the result of benefit to himself, he who does not lust for desire and mortifying asceticism by practicing the Middle Path happily receives a bowl of milk gruel from Ms Sujata’s offering with the aim of having enough health to lead to the path and fruit of liberation in a very near future. When achieving the path and fruit of deliverance, the Buddha continues to start out to turn the Dharma wheel and introduces the path of peacefulness, that of deliverance, that of holiness and the authentically peaceful path to living things and living beings. Carrying out thus is because He skillfully manipulates and nurtures his body and mind miraculously. This meaning is very appropriate to a statement of people “The way to one’s heart is through one’s stomach.

Indeed, when eating and drinking in moderation and temperance, we have enough health and lucidity to nurture our body and mind, to make any kind of noble person in the world, including making a Buddha, a Patriarch, a Boddhisattva, etc. Buddhism also says so and so do people.

We know when Bodhisattva had finished using the bowl of milk, He threw the empty bowl down Neranjara river and steadily said “If My meticulousness and cultivation are going to become enlightenment, this empty bowl drifts upstream of river.”Honestly, the empty bowl drifts upstream of river and announces that the result of His meticulousness and cultivation would certainly achieve the path and fruit of enlightenment and liberation. Finally, He became the Buddha, the fully-Awakened One, whose good, correct and decent signs, whose perfect loving-kindness and compassion.[3] Thus, drifting upstream of river in this case means purity and immaculacy, is not completely swept away by the current of covetous water, is not polluted by the world. This meaning describes His body and mind of perfection, effort, steadfastness and purely purity. It is thanks to His perfect body and mind that He has discovered the Four Noble Truths: “That is Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, the Cessation of Suffering and the Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering.[4]  

Indeed, out of the living continuation of the Buddhadharma and lineage of the sages, the Forthgoing Ones must lead their life of immaculacy and awareness, equanimity and selflessness, mindfulness and awakening to have the time of cultivation and learning, dissemination of the Dharma, and the serve of human life. Out of wanting the Buddha’s teachings to be spread widely all over the world, the Forthgoing Ones must live their exemplary life by their noble thoughts, words and doings. Out of wanting the world of tranquility, the people of peacefulness, the Forthgoing Ones play the important roles of the spiritual teachers in teaching the World-Honoured One’s Dharma to everyone and advise everyone to try to do the good, not to do the evil, to lead their peaceful and blissful life for the many.

Next, the right side toward the Unforthgoing One is not upstream of life. Unlike the Forthgoing One, the Unforthgoing One that was born in the world grows up in the world, has to get married, is busily much time with family, looks after family and children, nurtures and educates children to become virtuous and beneficial persons for himself or herself, for family, for school, and for society, contributes to building peaceful person, happy family, tranquil society and prosperous country.

In this case, non-upstream of life of the Unforthgoing Ones means downstreamness of life, people live their life with family, then the Unforthgoing Ones also live their life with family and children. The word of downstreamness of life of the Unforthgoing One and the word of integration of life of the Forthgoing One have many different meanings, but they both complement one another very intimately.

Due to maintaining the continuity of the family temple, the connection between spiritual and blood ancestors’ lineages, the Unforthgoing Ones must have wife, husband, children, and grandchildren. Due to wanting to protect the Buddha’s Dharma efficiently, the Unforthgoing One supports the four offerings such as clothes, eatables-drinkables, medicines and furniture for the Forthgoing One to have the time to study, to learn, to disseminate the Dharma, and to serve human life. 

Thus, when protecting the Dharma path, when propagating the Buddhadharma, both the Forthgoing One and the Unforthgoing One that have the same thoughts together go on the way of the upper direction and that of the good direction, and together go on the way of calm joyfulness and liberation.

Next, the third look is the contemplative look of human life. We know people can now live up to one hundred of the spring ages; one hundred of the spring ages is exampled as a hundred of the round Spring corn. At the beginning of New Year, we increase a spring age, that is, we decrease a spring age. Every year we eat one spring maize, ten years we eat ten fruits, twenty years we eat twenty fruits, up to now we eat seven fruits, so we only have thirty fruits left. Thirty fruits of remaining spring corn inform us that our food is about to end, the energy of our physical body is about to end and our life shortens gradually.

As person living to be aware that when our spring age decreases a year, we are more aware to live deeply and leisurely, what we say, what we think and what we do should bring flowers and fruits of peacefulness and happiness to the many and should bring the substance of love and that of understanding to many people. 

Indeed, as person living to be mindful and aware to learn and contemplate the World-Honoured One’s teachings, we clearly know to a certain stage of energy in our exhaustedly physical body, we cannot say a word, cannot move a step and cannot think of a thing. Although our word, step and thought are changed into a pile of gold, we cannot do. Clearly aware of thus, in the remaining life  of our life, we try to live beautifully, live usefully, live purposefully, live ideally, live to bring the fragrance of peaceful and free flavour to ourselves and to the others right in this world by applying the Buddha’s teachings into our daily life, specifically the five conscious things below.

The first conscious thing is that we respect all living beings’ lives, including humans, animals, there are even plants, trees, flowers, leaves, soils, rocks, etc., we do not kill, chop, burn and destroy forest, mountain, river, stream, pond, lake, the open sea, etc. Practicing the first conscious thing, that is, we are aware to nurture our love toward all living beings, we contribute to protecting the environment and lives of living things and living beings and contribute to building a green, clean and beautiful planet.

The second conscious things is that we respect private and public assets, heritage, minerals, and forest products, including gold, silver, gems, needle, blades of grass, bell, wooden bell, timbers, etc., we do not steal and do not appropriate the others’ havings. Practicing the second conscious thing, that is, we are aware to spread our heart of alms-giving toward the poor, the lonely and the needy, we exploit the sources of the natural resources moderately for generations of our descendants to lean on them, we contribute to conserving, maintaining and developing virtue, wealth and prosperity for our family and for the country.

The third conscious thing is that we respect the happy pair, including spouses and children, we do not abuse sexual desire of children, do not violate the other’s chastity, we only relate formally to our lawful spouse. Practicing the third conscious thing, that is, we are aware to protect happiness of our parents, spouses and children; we contribute to bringing peacefulness, joy and fame to our family, relatives, villages and society.

Owing to connecting lineage of the family temple, the Unforthgoing One must have spouse, children and grandchildren. Owing to the lineal continuation of the sages, owing to inheriting, descending, lighting up the torch of the Dharma, lighting up that of love, the Forthgoing One must spare much time to take care of cultivation, learning, spreading the Dharma and helping many people. The Forthgoing One that lives a very light-hearted and leisurely life is not tied by family and children

The fourth conscious thing is that we respect truthfulness and confidence for everyone, including grandparents, parents, teachers, friends, etc. We who do not tell a lie do not speak an embellishing word,[5] do not speak a piercing word,[6]do not speak a rough word, do not speak vague and unclear information, do not speak aspiring and avaricious words, do not speak words of creating dissension, discord and disharmony,[7] etc. Practicing the fourth conscious thing, that is, we are aware to say words of the truth, the right, those of confidence, harmony, reconciliation and gentleness, those of affection, softness, sweetness, easiness of hearing, and easiness of love, words of the useful value of building and bringing faith, prestige, harmony, solidarity, and love of authentic brotherhood and sisterhood to ourselves, to the others, to family, to relatives and to the communication right in this world.

The fifth conscious thing is that we respect peacefulness, tranquility, quietness, steadiness and carefreeness for the many, including us, our relatives, lovers and neighbours, we who do not drink alcohol, beer do not smoke, do not watch and see depraved film, picture and photograph, especially we do absolutely no use opium and drugs. Practicing the fifth conscious thing, that is, we do not violate the above conscious things, we cultivate the conscious things effortfully, we are aware to protect our healthy and wholesome body, our perspicacious and lucid mind for ourselves, we contribute to building and bringing prestige, the feeling of calm joyfulness and happiness to our native land and homeland.

Training the above conscious thing solidly, we not only help us, but also help not to know how many living things and living beings on this planet. We contribute to protecting the environment and habitat for this earth, and practically bring flowers and fruits of authentic peacefulness, happiness and peace to the world of humanity today.[8]  

Clearly understanding like this, now we live very tranquilly, in future we live very peacefully, we live very gently and leisurely. Dwelling stably in the World- Honoured One’s Dharma, we live without any fear and worry though life is impermanent, though birth, agedness, disease and death happen to our life in any circumstance, in any moment, our body and mind are still tranquil, leisurely and carefree. 

Though our life is impermanent,

Despite birth, old age, disease and death,

We who have already had the peaceful way,

Do not have worry and fear any longer.[9]

We have already had the peaceful way, that is, we choose, practice and apply a training method of being suitable for the Buddha’s teachings with Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration into our day-to-day life. As person living consciously, we cultivate, learn, train the Buddha’s teaching steadily, we enjoy and taste the peaceful Dharma, from here, the fragrance of joyful flavour, that of free flavour and that of authentically happy flavour penetrate, pervade and cool our body and mind.

Finally, looking the fourth contemplative spring through the five periods of one’s various time from when still lying in mother’s womb until when we close our eyes and depart our life. As the mentioned above, one’s life can now live up to a hundred of spring ages, we can temporarily divide one hundred of spring ages into

the five periods of different time as follows:

In the first stage, our spring age can still lie in our mother’s womb or born. We know since when mother conceives until when her foetus was born, the latter has about the time of nine months and ten days, or earlier or later than that time a little. In the time of still lying in its mother’s womb, foetus is very peaceful and comfortable. When her foetus is hungry, there is mother helping it to eat. When her foetus breathes, there is mother helping it to breathe. When her fotues is ill, there is mother helping it to take medicine, etc. That thing means foetus’ stomach is full, that is, mother’s stomach is full; foetus breathes, that is, mother breathes; foetus is healthy, that is, mother is healthy, and vice versa.  All of foetus’ doings have direct influences on mother’s doings.

Due to mother doing all things for her foetus, when pregnant, she is very careful. We know all of mother’s good and not good things have her direct influences on her foetus’ consciousness. Therefore, when mother says, thinks and does toward her foetus, she must use her mindful and conscious body and mind. Mother who cuts vegetables must do them straight. She who burns an incense stick on the altar of ancestors must light it straight. She who places a thing on the table must do straight, walks, stands, lies down, sits in deliberation, looks at beautiful flowers, pictures, photographs and images of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. Mother practices like that, her foetus is at ease, gentle and comfortable.

In the second stage, our spring age is from one year of age to twenty-five years of age. In this second stage, we can divide our spring age into the four various stages as follows:

a. Spring age from one year of age to three years of age – newborn baby or suckling: In this age group, baby that is still so young is cherished as a thin egg, eaten, drunk, sucked, carried by parents and siblings, especially mother. As person looked after consideration, baby that practiced saying papa, mama rightly looking at beautiful pictures like photographs of flowers, images of the Buddha and Bodhisttvas. These pictures and photographs are imbued with pure consciousness of very young child.

b. Spring age from four years of age to twelve years of age – Infants to children: In this age group, children that grow up gradually know to walk, stand, say, look, etc. Parents that are persons have responsibility to choose children suitable and wholesome toys, games, books, films, pictures and photographs that have scientific and educational characters, know to arouse and waken up potential understanding of children, keep track of them and allow them to go to school. 

c. Spring age from thirteen years of age to nineteen years of age – teenage age: In this age group, young person not only develops the physical side, but also the mental side. Parents that have their responsibility to instruct their children to live the lifestyle of family virtue, to honour the elder allow children to learn a trade corresponding with children’s taste, especially teach them useful way of life to themselves, to school, to family and to society. 

d. Spring age from twenty years of age to twenty-five years of age – youth age: In this age group, young people that have grown up are full of energy and vitality, can get married and maintain the continuity of family temple, can contribute to building a family of peacefulness and bliss, homeland of tranquility, richness and beautifulness.

Through spring age from one year of age to twenty-five years of age, we know family which is the first school is the place of educating child since when having not yet known to move to say to write until when growing up, is the place of teaching child to know to love and respect grandparents, parents, siblings and neighbours. Parents who are professors teach love, brotherhood, sisterhood, family morality, tradition and lifestyle, children who are pupils-students learn love, brotherhood, sisterhood, family morality, tradition and lifestyle. In the process of receiving the good and beautiful words from their relatives and lovers in family, children still learn the good and beautiful things from teachers, friends, colleagues, etc. outside school and society. Understanding and doing like this, we contribute to building peaceful people, happy family and tranquil and prosperous society right in this world.

In the third stage, our spring age can be from twenty-six years of age to fifty years of age. In this age group, we concentrate on building our happy family growing up in strength, we who have children permit them to go to school, teach them to become useful persons, take care of children being married off, etc. In the present society, as the Unforthgoing Ones, we should be aware that whether girls or boys, each of our families only has two children, we nourish, teach, support, etc. them very well and easily.

In the fourth stage, our spring age can be from fifty-one years of age to seventy-five years of age. This age group is spring age group of the sunset, we who have stabilized our life stop everything gradual, give gradually up external conditions, take care of cultivation, sit in meditation, chant Sutras, recite the Buddha’s names, accumulate, cultivate merits and plant the good blessing tree for descendants to depend on. Vietnamese proverb has written: “To leave havings as mountain is not as important as to leave merits for children to depend on. To leave riches as mountain, if debauched children in their family that do not know to follow their parents’ virtuous example do the good blessings, maintain family culture, tradition and virtue, then they gradually destroy riches also ended. But if parents leave merits to descendants, then descendants use and inherit parents’ merits long. We know havings which is as much as mountain is left by parents is exampled as full water in the lake, descendants use it to a certain time, water in the lake is certainly exhausted, but merits parents cultivate and leave is exampled as subterraneous water in a mountain spring, descendants use it constantly use it constantly never dryly.

The foregoing meanings which emphasize that to leave merits to descendants is more important than to leave havings to them advise everyone to train, to cultivate, to try to do the good, say the good and think of the good to bring flowers and fruits of peacefulness and happiness to the many. Vietnamese folk song has written: “People plant their virtuous trees, hey, people!, we who plant the moral trees are happy with our daily life.Indeed, when doing a good and useful thing, we are not only happy with ourselves, but also happy with the others again there.

The fifth stage is the last stage of our spring age from seventy-six years of age to one hundred years of age. This age group, which is the age group of solidity, maturity, density, richness of experience, is also that of tranquil cultivation, preparedness to carry one’s spiritual luggage to go to the Pure Land or Paradise by oneself. We know when we are still young, our psychophysiology is excited, officious, our living experience is young, we who stand this mountain expect that mountain, our thinking and doing are unthoroughly yet. But our spring age grows old, we have very much free time to consider, to contemplate, to be in charge of painstakingness, cultivation and contemplation, to take charge of luggage and victualling of life gently and light-heartedly. Each of our thoughts is every good thought, each of our words is every amiable and lovable speech, and each of our doings is every peaceful and blissful doing for the many. We advise and teach our descendants how to live to deserve to become useful persons for ourselves and for the others right in this world.

Through the above-mentioned things, we are aware that though impermanent life happens to us, though birth, agedness, disease and decease occur to us, in this spring age we are young, in that spring age we do not remain young, we always take hold of thought that we are really happy persons who are training the World-Honoured One’s Dharma taste the peaceful flavour of the World-Honoured One’s Dharma, are spreading feelings of love and understanding to many people.

In brief, on the occasion of Tet coming, we ask respectfully to wish the Honoured Monks and Nuns, abroad-learning Monks and Nuns, the Dharma friends, good male and female Buddhists everywhere, Guests of honour, governmental leaders at all levels, Dignitaries in friend religion, overseas Students inside as well as  outside the country to entirely enjoy the Maitreya Spring brimful of joyfulness, at the same time respectfully wish all of Your relatives and lovers plentiful health, peaceful body and mind in the Dharma, Buddhist matters of perfect accomplishment.

The Dharma of learning, that of training, that of understanding, that of peacefulness, that of guardianship and that of flavour which are penetrated have the ability to make Your body and mind cool softly.

Thich Trung Sy, the Spring of the Tiger - 2010

 


 


[1] Religious age in Buddhism means after three months participating in Raining or Summer Retreat (S. Vārsika) every year, monastic practitioner has one more age of cultivated merits. 

[2] The Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.

[3]  Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Meditative poem.

[4]  S. V. 421-2; CDB. V. 1844-5.

[5] Speaking embellishing word, that is, going to person A we say Person B is good, going to person B we say person A is good, and vice versa. Not speaking embellishing word, that is, we should say the peaceful and helpful matters to everybody. 

[6] Speaking a piercing word, that is, going to this person we say that person is not good, going to that person we say this person is not good. Not speaking piercing word, that is to say, we should say the Dharma things to bring happiness to ourselves and to the others right in the world.        

[7] See Samyuktāgama Sūtra, N. 785.

[8] See Thich Trung Sy. The Path of Buddhist Education. Ha Noi: Religious Publishing House, 2009, p. 118-134.

[9]  Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Meditative poem.

 

              


 

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Updated: 12-02-2010

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