[Três sons to grande sino ...]
Centro de Prática Plum Village,
Templo Loving Kindness,
O Caminho do Buddha,
Retiro de Inverno 2008 - 2009.
Os Insights que nos ajudam
a Libertar-nos de Visões Erradas
14 December 2008.
No passado, quando Thầy recebeu
os Grandes Preceitos,
o Pratimoksha,
Thầy teve de os recitar em Chinês.
Chinês clássico.
Thầy não os podia recitar
em Vietnamita.
Hoje em dia, os monges e as monjas podem
recitar os preceitos em Vietnamita.
No entanto, no Vietnã, a maioria dos monges e das monjas
continua a recitar o Pratimoksha em Chinês clássico.
Sentem que recitá-lo em Chinês
soa mais sagrado do que
recitá-lo em Vietnamita.
É como recitar escrituras em Latim cá,
soa mais poderoso,
mais sagrado do que recitá-las, por exemplo, em Francês.
Recitar em Sânscrito
recitar em Latim.
Thầy gosta bastante das palavras
introdutórias do Pratimoksha
O Pratimoksha
que recitamos na Plum Village
é da escola Dharmagupta
(Pháp Tạng Bộ 法藏部).
Os preceitos são como
o oceano sem fronteiras.
[ Giới như hải vô nhai ]
[ 戒如海無涯 ]
Os preceitos são como tesouros preciosos,
nunca nos cansamos na sua busca.
[ Như bảo cầu vô yếm ]
如寶求無厭 ]
É porque queremos proteger a herança
sagrada dos verdadeiros ensinamentos
[ Dục hộ thánh pháp tài ]
[ 欲護聖法財 ]
que nos juntámos para ouvir
a recitação dos preceitos.
[ Chúng tập thính ngã thuyết ]
[ 眾集聽我說 ]
Dezasseis palavras.
Significa
que os preceitos são como
o oceano sem fronteiras.
Os preceitos são como
o oceano sem fronteiras.
"Giới như hải vô nhai,"
"Như bảo cầu vô yếm"
significa que os preceitos são como
tesouros preciosos de que estamos à procura.
É como ir a uma montanha cheia de pedras preciosas;
podemos recolher tantas pedras preciosas.
Mas recolher três pedras preciosas não é suficiente,
cinco pedras preciosas não é suficiente.
Nunca é suficiente.
Então os preceitos
também são assim.
Estudar os preceitos,
seguir os preceitos,
nunca nos cansamos de o fazer.
Então na altura, como um jovem bhikshu a ler os preceitos,
senti que essas palavras eram maravilhosas
mas ainda não as tinha
compreendido totalmente.
Não tinha visto claramente que os preceitos
são tão vastos como o oceano,
e que não há fronteiras,
não há limites.
Agora consigo vê-lo.
Vejo que os preceitos
realmente não têm fronteiras,
tão vastos.
Quanto mais estudamos,
mais profundos se tornam,
quando mais estudamos,
mais vemos a sua vastidão.
E agora compreendo claramente a linha
“Giới như hải vô nhai,”
que significa, os preceitos são
como o oceano sem fronteiras.
No início podemos pensar
"São preceitos. Qual é a grande importância?"
Os cinco preceitos, o primeiro é não matar,
o segundo é não roubar ...
o que é tão complicado neles
que têm de ser considerados
tão vastos como o oceano sem fronteiras,
sem limites?
Como tesouros preciosos
que não nos cansamos de perseguir.
Claro, alguns de nós
gostam de estudar os preceitos.
Mas mesmo que gostemos
de estudar os preceitos,
tem de haver um ponto
em que sentimos que é suficiente.
Mas o parágrafo introdutório
diz, "như bảo cầu vô yếm."
Então como tesouros preciosos
que perseguimos,
não importa quantos encontramos,
nunca sentimos que é suficiente.
Os preceitos também são assim,
quanto mais os estudamos,
mais vemos quão maravilhosos são.
Então quando estudamos
os 5, 10 ou 14 preceitos
e pensamos que chega,
então não tocámos
verdadeiramente os preceitos.
Porque os preceitos são muito profundos.
Contêm concentração e insight.
E insight é um baú de tesouro
de compreensão e amor.
E então podemos estudar os preceitos
toda a nossa vida e ainda assim sentir que não é suficiente.
"Giới như hải vô nhai, Như bảo cầu vô yếm."
[ 戒如海無涯，如寶求無厭 ]
Os preceitos são como
o oceano sem fronteiras.
Os preceitos são como uma montanha de pedras preciosas,
nunca nos cansamos na sua busca.
"Dục hộ thánh pháp tài, Chúng tập thính ngã thuyết."
[ 欲護聖法財，眾集聽我說 ]
"Porque queremos proteger a
herança sagrada dos nobres
a sangha juntou-se aqui para ouvir
a recitação dos preceitos."
É porque temos uma herança
muito preciosa, que são os preceitos.
E se conseguirmos proteger essa herança,
continuaremos a ser ricos.
Se perdermos essa herança,
então iremos tornar-nos pobres.
É por isso que os preceitos
são muito importantes no Budismo.
Preceito é sila.
E estamos prestes a ter uma grande
cerimónia de transmissão dos preceitos.
a cerimónia da Transmissão dos Grandes Preceitos
da Nova Época do Lótus (Giới Đàn Mùa Sen Mới).
E muitas pessoas estão a pedir
a transmissão dos preceitos.
"Sila" significa
preceitos.
E
preceitos levam à concentração.
Concentração é "samadhi."
Quando os nossos preceitos e
concentração são poderosos o suficiente,
podemos perfurar
a rede de ilusão
e chegar a uma compreensão profunda,
a que chamamos "insight",
ou Prajna.
Então os preceitos contêm
concentração e insight.
Se os preceitos não contêm
concentração e insight,
não são preceitos verdadeiros.
Então devemos saber que preceitos aqui
contêm concentração,
e concentração contém insight.
Aqui está concentração.
E aqui está insight.
Se ao praticarmos conseguirmos
desenvolver concentração e insight
é porque os preceitos em si
contêm concentração e insight.
Então quando observamos
o primeiro preceito de
não matar, de proteger a vida,
sabemos que concentração e insight
estão aqui.
Deve haver um tipo de insight
que serve de base para os preceitos.
Nas últimas semanas
temos visto claramente que
insight é visão certa.
"Chánh kiến" significa visão certa.
Visão certa.
E visão certa
é a visão que leva
a solidariedade e amor,
e não a discriminação e divisão.
É isso que queremos dizer com visão certa.
A visão do co-surgimento interdependente,
a visão do interser.
Co-surgimento interdependente.
[ Duyên sinh ]
Interser.
[ Tương Tức ]
Co-surgimento interdependente significa
que isto depende daquilo para se manifestar.
Como a esquerda
depende da direita para ser.
Se não existe esquerda,
não existe direita.
Isto também é interser.
Esquerda e direita dependem
uma na outra para ser.
Se não existe esquerda,
nunca vai existir direita.
Se isto não existe,
então aquilo nunca vai existir.
Nos sutras, o Buddha
ensinou isto muito claramente,
"Isto é porque aquilo é."
É muito simples.
Isto é porque aquilo é.
[ Thử hữu tức bỉ hữu ]
[ 此有故彼有 ]
[ Thử hữu tức bỉ hữu ]
[ 此有故彼有 ]
Significa, isto é porque aquilo é.
Isto é, então aquilo é.
Isto e aquilo.
Imaginemos que não há esquerda.
Como poderá haver direita?
Inicialmente vemos que
a esquerda e a direita
são como o sol e a lua,
a oporem-se.
Mas de facto,
elas envolvem-se.
Na esquerda está a direita.
E na direita está a esquerda.
Onde quer que esteja a esquerda,
está também a direita.
É maravilhoso.
Se não há esquerda,
não pode haver direita.
Isto é compreensão certa.
Aquilo a que chamamos visão certa.
É como quando dizemos
"eu" e "tu".
"Eu" e "tu".
Estas duas coisas.
O um e o todo.
O um
e o todo.
O um e o todo.
[ Nhất, nhất thiết ]
[ 一 , 一切 ]
No Budismo diz-se
que o um é o todo.
Este é o um,
este é o todo.
O um. O todo.
[ 一 , 一切 ]
Porque é que o um é o todo?
Porque olhando profundamente
para o um,
olhando muito profundamente,
podemos ver o todo.
Na Plum Village usamos frequentemente
a flor como exemplo.
Olhando profundamente
para esta uma flor.
podemos ver que ela
contém tudo.
A nuvem, o sol, a terra,
até a consciência humana.
não há nada no universo
que não esteja nesta flor.
O todo é inerente no um.
E se retirarmos o todo,
o um deixa de existir.
Se retirarmos o todo,
o um deixa de existir.
Então o um envolve o todo
e o todo envolve o um
Fora do um, o todo não existe,
e fora do todo, o um não existe.
É por isso que o um e o todo
dependem um do outro para ser.
Não podemos dizer que o todo vem primeiro
e depois vem o um,
ou que o um vem primeiro
e depois vem o todo.
Então é uma compreensão muito profunda.
E quando conseguimos ver
a natureza do interser,
interser,
isto é aquilo,
isto envolve aquilo,
então começamos a compreender.
Como quando olhamos para os preceitos
e vemos que contêm concentração e insight,
conseguimos ver a verdadeira natureza dos preceitos.
Mas se virmos que os preceitos
não são concentração nem insight,
não compreendemos realmente os preceitos.
Porque preceitos, concentração
e insight inter-são.
Eles inter-são.
Esse é o insight a que temos de chegar.
E esse insight
não chega a falar ou a ouvir.
Temos de praticar olhar profundamente.
E um dia seremos capazes de ter insight.
Esse insight é a visão certa.
E quando tivermos insight,
os preceitos tornam-se
algo muito natural.
Quando virmos que a outra pessoa somos nós,
não podemos matá-la.
Porque matar essa pessoa
significa matar-nos a nós próprios.
É o mesmo se falarmos sobre
o homem e o ambiente.
Homem e o ambiente.
E se tivermos a visão errada (tà kiến),
diremos que o homem é uma coisa
e que o ambiente é outra coisa.
Essa não é uma visão certa.
E sem visão certa,
ética não é possível.
Segundo os ensinamentos do Buddha
assim como os insights
de outros grandes seres
o ambiente é também homem.
Homem vem do ambiente.
E o ambiente cria o homem.
É por isso que podemos dizer
que somos o ambiente.
Tu és o ambiente,
o ambiente és tu.
When we have this insight,
that is right view.
Seeing the inter-being between
ourselves and the environment,
we can't possibly harm the environment.
Because harming the environment
is harming ourselves.
To kill the environment
is to kill the human species.
Nowadays, sociologists and scientists
are all able to see this.
They can see it in theory
but perhaps not with insight .
So in not harming the environment,
in observing the precepts to not harm the environment,
to not kill other species,
to not kill other people,
that comes from insight.
There is right view.
That's why we say precepts must contain insight
to be called true precepts.
If we just say,
"The first precept is no killing,"
but we don't have the insight
on why we shouldn't kill,
then we have not understood the precepts.
We need the insight of inter-being:
If you kill that person you kill yourself.
You will suffer a lot.
With that insight,
no-killing is possible.
So the precepts contain
concentration and insight.
And looking into the precepts,
we'll find it's complete with
concentration and insight.
That is why the precepts
have no boundaries.
The precepts are like the ocean,
without boundaries.
The more we study, the more
we see how deep and vast they are.
The more we study, the more we see how
precepts contain concentration and insight.
And insight is limitless.
For some, a lake or a pond
may already seem large,
but when they encounter a river,
and they see that the river is so vast.
But a river is nothing compared to the ocean.
So when we look deeply into the precepts,
we can also see that the precepts are limitless,
Because the precepts contain
concentration and insight.
And if insight is limitless,
then love is also limitless.
Insight is understanding,
and compassion is love.
Compassion is love.
Insight is understanding.
And we have learned that in Buddhism
love is immeasurable.
Love is made of four elements:
loving kindness, compassion,
joy and equanimity.
The four immeasurable minds.
[ Tứ vô lượng tâm ]
[ 四無量心 ]
"Vô lượng" means limitless.
And if love is limitless,
the understanding that generates
that love is also limitless.
And because the precepts contain insight,
understanding,
they are also limitless.
So now Thay understands clearly that the line,
"The precepts are like the ocean
without boundaries," is very true.
The precepts are like the ocean
without boundaries.
This is very true.
The precepts are like the ocean
without boundaries.
Like precious treasures
that we keep looking for.
We've found so many,
yet we never get tired,
we still want to keep looking for more.
So, studying the precepts in that spirit,
we are true practitioners.
Wherever there's a precepts class,
we go there immediately
to study with the precepts teachers.
Precepts teachers who have studied the precepts
for 20 years are very well-learned,
yet they still feel they haven't understood enough,
so they aspire to study for another 10 years,
and even so it's not enough,
so they study for another 20 years.
When we have such a desire
for the learning the precepts,
they can be considered true precepts.
So 25 years ago, we did some deep looking,
we mobilized the sangha,
and together we renewed the
5 Mindfulness Trainings.
At the time, we felt that version of the
5 Mindfulness Trainings were already so wonderful.
But now, after 25 years of practicing
we are very clear that we
need to revise the 5 Mindfulness Trainings.
Because the 5 MTs must be presented
in such a way that when we recite them
we can see that they contain
concentration and insight.
So during the past 3 or 4 weeks,
the community in Plum Village
has been helping Thay revise the first training,
the training on protecting life.
In the past when the Buddha devised the precepts,
it was also done with the support
of the senior monks and nuns.
So now as we revise the precepts,
as we revise the precepts
you must also help Thay.
You must do it with Thầy.
Don't leave Thay to do it alone.
That wouldn't be nice.
So in the Dharma sharing sessions,
don’t just sit and listen,
you must share your insights on the trainings.
You must truly contribute to the discussion.
You must speak out.
Of course, it may be that in our sharing circle
there are people
who are good at taking notes,
or good at choosing the right words
to express the sangha’s insights.
They are the editors.
So you may not be an editor,
but you have insight.
If you have an insight into the training,
you should speak out.
You have the practice, so you can share,
you can contribute.
Later you can tell your children that
"In those days, when the 5 Mindfulness trainings were revised,
I was there."
But I was there!
Whether I'm now a venerable nun
or a venerable monk,
I had actively contributed.
I didn't just sit there and listen,
and say I'm happy to flow,
No, being happy to flow is not enough.
You have to contribute to the process.
Later, should your children ask about it,
you can say “Yes, I was there
and I contributed wholeheartedly.”
That's how it should be.
So today is Sunday,
and we'll continue with revising the fifth training.
No. The first training.
And the sangha has already
appointed one person per group
to take notes and to edit.
So all the note takers and editors from
the different groups should come together,
gathering all the ideas
from their groups
and condensing it into a text
for the first training that's not too long.
But it should contain
the concentration and insight
on the training of no killing.
So in the training on no killing, it should be
presented it in such a way that we can see
that with the insight of interbeing,
with the insight of interdependent co-arising,
we no longer discriminate.
We're no longer dogmatic.
We're no longer angry.
Because
with understanding, there is acceptance and love.
And when there is acceptance and love,
then how can one still kill?
Killing that person
means killing ourselves.
That's why in the first training
we can help everyone see
the insight that serves as the foundation.
And we know that
the spirit of Buddhism
is one of openness.
Open to learn and to not
get caught in any view,
any doctrine,
theory or religion.
Because in our society,
sometimes in the name of a doctrine
in the name of a theory, a religion or God,
they kill each other.
And in the Buddhist tradition,
we have the practice called
non attachment to views,
to not be caught in any
doctrine, theory,
or ideology,
even Buddhist ideology
or Buddhist theory.
We should see the teachings of
the Buddha as guiding means.
They are the finger
pointing to the moon,
the raft to cross to the other shore.
We should not worship
or
wage a war
just to protect these things.
The things that we consider to be absolute truths.
That's why while in Vietnam last year,
Thay organized requiems to pray
for the six to seven million people
who died during the Vietnam war.
In the prayer we were able
to say this one sentence.
We were able to say this one sentence.
And that prayer ended up being published
in "Giác Ngộ" magazine.
The sentence was, "Before both our
spiritual and blood ancestors,
we vow that from now on we will
never initiate any idealogical wars."
That line is very important.
The current and future
generations should learn this line
because the Vietnam war
was essentially an ideological war
between communism and capitalism.
And the country and the people of Vietnam
became a battlefield.
Because one side subscribed to Marxism (communism),
and the other side subscribed to capitalism.
Not only did the country adopt
ideologies brought in from outside
it also imported weapons from outside
and brothers ended up killing brothers.
That war
was an ideology war.
And brothers of one family killed
each other because of ideologies.
So when we are fanatic
about an ideology,
we might end up killing each other.
The spirit of Buddhism is openness,
to not get caught in any ideology,
any doctrine or theory—
and it's written very clearly—
even Buddhist ones.
We shouldn't be caught in them either.
That is called non-attachment to views,
not being caught in any ideology
or theory.
Non-attachment to views.
That's the beauty of Buddhism.
So when we talk about
the first mindfulness training,
we have to talk about this.
First, the insight interbeing must be there.
I am you, you are me.
Killing you means killing me.
Second, there must be openness.
We are not caught in any
doctrine, any theory or any ideology.
That is when the precept on no-killing
can be a true Buddhist precept.
Now we see in India and Iraq,
everyday bombs are exploding,
everyday people are dying.
The people are caught in their
ideologies, theories or religions.
They punish each other,
they kill themselves and they kill others.
So how can we present the first training
so that it can be a bell of mindfulness
for the whole world to wake up,
and see that we need to free ourselves
from the fanatism and intolerance,
in order to put an end
to the violence, the hatred and the killing.
So for the first precept,
how can we keep it short
but still be able to express all the insights.
Insight is the foundation for action.
So precepts.
About precepts,
we need to present them in a way
that people can touch the concentration
and insight while reciting them.
Maybe we ...
teacher and disciples,
in this winter retreat
we can offer a new version
of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings.
And maybe they can be used
for the next 20 or 30 years.
They can play their role
in the next 20 or 30 years.
But in 20 or 30 years, the situation
in the world will change,
and it will require us to sit down
and revise the trainings again.
Because the trainings
must be appropriate.
On one hand, they should be appropriate
to the teachings.
They must be in-line with the teachings.
And on the other hand, they should be
appropriate to the situation of the world.
In-line with the teachings and appropriate to our times.
[ khế lý 契理 , khế cơ 契機 ]
That is called appropriateness.
Today the sangha is invited
to work effectively together.
So we have Dharma sharing groups,
or precepts sharing groups.
And in each sharing group,
there are some who are active,
some who can share quite deeply,
and some who are capable of
taking notes and reporting.
So we should encourage these people to
meet similar people in other groups
to form an editorial council.
And Thay will hand over all the materials
and results of last weeks
Dharma sharing sessions
so that they can rewrite and present
the first training as they wish.
That text will be the result
of collective insight,
from teacher and disciple,
from all the brothers and sisters.
And it can be our offering
to the Three Jewels as the year ends,
on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.
In the past few weeks we have
tried to offer some different views.
View or approach.
Three different views.
The first is the view from theistic traditions.
You should already have that printed text.
And we have a paragraph
about the scientific view.
The view of science about
the universe and all beings.
Lastly, we have a paragraph
about the Buddhist view.
The Buddhist view on consciousness and action.
So we should all have these three texts.
These texts represent the three different approaches,
the theistic approach,
the scientific approach,
and the Buddhist approach.
Buddhist studies can be better described
as ethics rather than religion.
Because in Buddhism we don't speak of the creator.
If God is perceived ...
as the ground of being,
if God is perceived as
the ultimate reality,
as suchness,
as Nirvana,
then in Buddhism there is God.
But if God is perceived as a man
with a long beard
standing high up in the sky
who created humans and all things,
then in Buddhism
there is no God like that.
And now people say that
spirituality is possible without God.
Spirituality without God.
But depending on how we
understand the word God,
we can see whether God is present in Buddhism or not.
If we say man is created
in the image of God,
there is no such belief in Buddhism.
But if we say God is the ultimate reality,
the ground of being
then there may be a God.
It is like that.
Thay has proposed a short text—less than
a dozen lines—on the Buddhist approach.
And this Buddhist approach
is just a finger pointing to the moon,
or a raft to cross the river.
You can come up with another text.
And in the future the Buddhist approach
can be improved.
We can present it in a better way.
Just like science. The view
representing science here
may no longer be relevant now.
In science, there are those
who have made great progress
and there are those who have stay behind.
And the scientists who have made great progress
and the scientists who have stay behind,
they strongly oppose each other.
They have very different views.
And so, the view of science
is also advancing,
and the view of religion
is also advancing.
So the view of Buddhism
must also move forward.
Why?
If love is something limitless,
then understanding and wisdom
should also be something limitless.
So we cannot say that our understanding ends here.
So if there are any theologians here in the sangha
(theologians)
let's contemplate, let's try to find
a new understanding
of cosmology from the theistic traditions.
Because the view that we have been using
as the foundation for ethics may be outdated.
In the light of science,
that view needs to be revised.
In the Buddhist approach, both
subject and object of perception ...
manifest from consciousness
according to the principle of interbeing.
"Both subject and object of perception
manifest from consciousness
according to the principle of interbeing."
Wherever we go we can see interbeing.
Subject of perception
and object of perception
are not two things
that exist outside of each other.
The subject contains the object
and the object contains the subject.
Just like this flower, it
contains the universe
and the universe
contains this flower.
They cannot exist outside of each other.
This is the insight of Buddhism.
So, "Humankind is present in all things
and all things are present in humankind."
It means that humankind
is present in the environment
and the environment is
present in humankind.
Human beings and
the environment inter-are.
It is clearly consistent
with the insight of interbeing.
You contain the environment.
The environment contains you.
You are the environment.
That is the insight of Buddhism.
And Buddhism goes further.
"On the phenomenal level,
there seems to be birth,
death, being and non-being,
but ontologically, these notions cannot be
applied to reality."
"On the phenomenal level,
there seems to be birth,
death, being and non-being,
but ontologically,
these notions cannot be
applied to reality."
This is very Buddhist.
This is just one person's way
of expressing this.
As you study and practice Buddhism,
you may find better ways
to express this.
It's the same in science.
If you are a scientist.
—there must be some scientists among us—
like astrophysicists,
or nuclear physicists,
uou know that science
is also advancing.
It has left behind
archaic knowledge,
and is finding ways
to be free from views,
to break free from old knowledge
to search for new knowledge.
There are scientists who have come very close,
and who have started to have insights
that are similar to Buddhist ones.
They're starting to see that
the universe is also consciousness,
they're starting to see that
the quanta is also consciousness,
first of all their own consciousness.
So dialogue between
science and religion
have been going on for decades.
And it is something very exciting.
If scientists can work together with Buddhists,
if scientists learn to meditate
and to use a tool called mind,
they can succeed much more quickly.
Because scientists have
very sophisticated instruments.
They have very expensive instruments,
like particle accelerators.
The one in Switzerland is very expensive.
But in Buddhism, we say the most
important instrument is our mind.
When mind is tainted with the afflictions
of craving, anger and ignorance,
that instrument cannot realize deep insights.
So if we know how to purify our mind,
how to remove the dust of
craving, anger, ignorance,
our mind becomes clear and bright.
With that clarity,
we can see more clearly.
That is why scientists
must also be practitioners
in order to be successful
more quickly and easily.
Scientists can't just use their intellect alone,
they also need to make use of their heart.
Everything evolves according to the
principle of interdependence,
but there is free will and
the possibility to transform,
there is probability.
"The dynamic consciousness is called karma energy.
Everything evolves according to
the principle of interdependence, interbeing,
but there is still free will
and the possibility to transform.
There is probability.
And the one affects the
all, the all affect the one."
The all affect the one,
and the one affects the all.
Each sentence contains
the insight of interbeing.
To Thay, the principle
of interbeing is very scientific.
"Right view allows right action,
leading to the reduction of suffering
and the increase of happiness."
"Right view allows right action,
leading to the reduction of suffering
and the increase of happiness."
So in Buddhist ethics,
right view is very important.
Right view leads to right thinking,
right speech and right action.
And one more thing:
happiness and suffering inter-are.
"Happiness and suffering inter-are."
Meaning in happiness there is suffering.
In suffering there is happiness.
Happiness and suffering make each other.
That is also the insight of interbeing.
Perhaps in other schools of ethics
this has been overlooked.
But in Buddhism, without this insight
it is not true Buddhist ethics.
And lastly, "The ultimate reality transcends
notions of good and evil, right and wrong."
Meaning notions of good
and evil, right and left,
right and wrong,
are all relative.
There are two domains,
one domain is nature,
or the natural world.
The natural world is the domain of nature.
And the human world is the domain of humans.
Because there is the human world,
with its suffering and happiness,
we need to be able to determine
what is right and what is wrong,
what is good and what is bad.
These things are pragmatic.
They are only relative in value.
Don't hold on to them and assume
that they are absolute.
Right and wrong, good and evil,
are only relative.
We should not be caught
and think they are absolute.
This is very important.
Because when we arrive
at the ultimate reality,
there is no more
right and wrong,
good and evil,
true and false.
So Nirvana transcends all notions of right and wrong,
being and non-being,
good and evil.
Nirvana is not good.
Nirvana is neither good
nor evil.
Good and evil are notions
that we apply in the human world.
Nirvana itself is neither
good nor evil.
It transcends the notions of
good and evil.
It's the same goes for notions
of above and below.
Above means to be above something,
and below means to be below something.
We are sitting here
in France.
Our head is pointing up,
so we think that this is the below.
But in Viet Nam,
they are sitting upside down from us.
What we call the above
is actually their below.
So these notions of above and
below cannot be applied to the universe.
They can only be applied in relation to the Earth.
So we should not be caught
in notions of above and below.
It's the same for the Dharmakaya.
To say that Dharmakaya is pure is not correct.
To say the Dharmakaya is pure is incorrect.
The Dharmakaya is neither pure nor impure.
To say that the Dharmakaya is impure is already wrong,
but to say that the Dharmakaya
is pure is equally wrong.
So when Zen master Tuệ Trung
Thượng Sĩ was asked by his disciples:
"What is the pure Dharmakaya?"
He said, "Cow dung",
"Cow urine.
That's what he said
to help people break free from
notions of pure and impure.
So what Thầy wants to say is,
if you are a theologian,
a Hindu,
Jewish,
or Christian theologian,
you should know that ...
our view on the universe and
all things can be improved.
We can move it forward.
We can transcend the old view
and to reach a new view.
And we can ...
carry our tradition forward
so that it can be closer to science.
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has also said this.
He said, "If I encounter something in Buddhism
that contradicts the spirit of modern science,
then I am ready to let them go."
That is the spirit of
non-attachment to views.
We have the courage
to let go of things
that we find are no longer correct.
This is also the spirit of science.
On the 1st of October, 2008 ...
in the capitol city of New Delhi ...
Thầy gave a teaching
to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi.
It was called the Gandhi Memorial Lecture.
Thầy cited an extract from
Mahatma Gandhi's speech
from the 9th of April, 1933,
from his journal called "Harijan."
Ghandi said: "In my search after truth,"
in my journey to seek the the truth,
"I have discarded many ideas
and learned many new things."
"In my search after truth, I have discarded many ideas and learned many new things."
This proves that Mahatma Gandhi was someone
who was not attached to views.
He was not caught in prior knowledge.
Mahatma Gandhi was not a Buddhist.
He was a Hindu.
And in that tradition
there is also advancement.
This is the spirit of science.
As Christians or Jewish
we can also have that attitude.
We can release old understanding,
in order to reach to higher understanding.
"Old as I am in age,
I have no feeling that I have
ceased to grow inwardly."
"Old as I am in age, I have no feeling
that I have ceased to grow inwardly."
I am old but I have the feeling
that I have never cease to learn
and I continue to grow
in my spiritual life.
And I have the feeling
that even at the dissolution of this body
my quest for learning, my growth in
spiritual life will not stop.
It will continue.
"...or that my growth will stop
at the dissolution of the flesh."
It proves that Mahatma Gandhi was
not caught in the view of nihilism.
Nihilism means,
the idea that at the dissolution of the body nothing continues.
Nothing is continued.
The person is gone.
Mahatma Gandhi is saying after the dissolution of this body,
I will continue to learn,
I will continue to grow,
and I can continue to let go of the old truths in order to reach higher truths.
So Mahatma Gandhi was able to
break free from nihilism.
This sentence proves that
Mahatma Gandhi had two virtues.
The first virtue is the capacity
to let go of his own views.
And second is the capacity to transcend
the wrong view of nihilism,
which is the view that after death
we cease to exist.
Many scientists are still
caught in these two things.
Even scientists are still caught
in these two things
but Gandhi was not.
These two things are very important in Buddhism.
Which is first, non-attachment to views—
the capacity to let go of knowledge.
And secondly, not being caught in nihilism.
We need to move forward a bit
and start talking about the second mindfulness training,
even if we are still working
on revising the first training.
Because we only have three months.
The second training is ...
the practice of sharing our resources
with those who are in need,
not to appropriate, not to steal,
and not to cause social injustice.
The second training
must also contain the insight of interbeing.
And when we present the second training,
we have to present it in such a way
that it contains the insight of interbeing.
The suffering of the other person
is our own suffering.
The suffering, the destruction
of the environment
is also the destruction of human beings.
That insight should be
embedded in the second training.
The second training is about no stealing,
about sharing our time and material resources
with those who are in need.
We see that the objective
of the second training
is more about eliminating craving,
more about eliminating greed and craving.
In the first training on no killing,
it is also about eliminating greed.
It is because of greed
that we kill people,
we invade other countries.
We covet the natural resources of those countries
so we come and invade them.
Or we want a market for our products
so we invade that country.
So the first training also deals with craving.
The second training deals with craving too.
It's because of craving that
we want to seize and appropriate.
It's because of craving for wealth and success
that we destroy the environment.
The object of this craving
is assets and wealth.
And when we go to the third training,
no sexual misconduct, it is also
related to craving, but for sex.
So in fact all the five trainings
deal with craving and greed.
Similarly, all the five trainings also
deal with anger.
Because in the first training,
no killing, there is anger.
Because of anger there is killing.
And delusion. Delusion is the
lack of insight into interbeing,
therefore the killing, therefore the appropriation.
So we see clearly that the five trainings
are interrelated, they inte-rare.
In practicing one training well,
we can also practice the other four trainings well.
It's very wonderful.
So when we present
the second training on no stealing,
on sharing our time, material resources and
energy with those who are in need,
we have to present it in such a way
that allows people to see that the
other person whom we are exploiting,
whom we want to appropriate
from, is also ourselves.
And that storehouse of natural resources,
that environment that we are exploiting
and polluting, is also ourselves.
We are the environment.
We must have that insight
for the second training can be deep enough.
So you have to present it
in such a way that allows everyone
to see the interbeing between
themselves and the other person—
the person whom we want to appropriate from,
whom we want to exploit—
the interbeing nature between
ourselves and the environment.
That's when second training
is a true precept of the Buddha.
The insight of interbeing must be there.
For example, we can say,
"I vow to look deeply to see that
the happiness and suffering of others
are related to my own
happiness and suffering."
You may think that you have to be rich
in order to be happy.
But your wealth cannot be
built on the poverty of others.
"I vow to look deeply to see that
the happiness and suffering of others
are related to my own
happiness and suffering.
And that true happiness and peace
are not possible without
understanding and love."
Because there are some views
that say only when we have the four things—
wealth, fame, power and sex—
we can be happy.
That's what so many people believe.
So in this second training,
we have to make clear
that without understanding and love,
happiness is not possible.
Even if you have a lot of wealth,
fame, power and sex,
if there's no understanding
and love, you can suffer enormously.
You can even commit suicide.
So understanding and love are
the foundation of happiness.
We have to help people see that
so they can look for
happiness in that direction
and not to run after craving.
Only then can this precept
be a true precept of the Buddha.
"That true happiness and
peace are not possible
without understanding and love,
that running after wealth, fame, power and
sensual pleasures can bring much suffering."
"And once I know how to generate
understanding and love,
I can help myself and others overcome
difficulties and fear, and grow my happiness.
I vow to look deeply
to see that I am the environment ...
and the environment is myself.
Harming the environment is harming myself."
With these elements, it is good enough for now.
"I am determied to practice deeply
to see that both happiness
and suffering of the other person
have much to do with my
own suffering and happiness.
That true happiness is not possible
without understanding and love.
And running after wealth, fame, power or sex
can bring about much suffering and despair."
And happiness is the aim of our life.
Even though everyone needs
to overcome poverty,
happiness cannot be found in
the direction of craving and sensual desires.
In New Delhi, Thầy also talked about ...
Mahatma Gandhi's view on
happiness and sensual pleasures.
And Thầy quoted this from Gandhi:
"Our ancestors set a limit to our indulgences."
Our ancestors have learned to stop
and practice moderation.
No more indulging without limits.
No more
No more overindulgence.
"Our ancestors set a limit on our indulgences,"
in order not to overindulge.
"They saw that happiness
was largely a mental condition."
Our ancestors saw that happiness
was largely a mental condition, our way of seeing things.
Seeing with understanding and love,
happiness is possible.
"A man is not necessarily
happy because he is rich,
or unhappy because he is poor."
So people are not necessary happy
when they are rich,
and not necessarily
unhappy when they are poor.
Those who are able to live in moderation,
in poor conditions,
especially those who are able to live simply, those who choose
voluntary poverty,
those people are very happy.
They live simply, they may not
have a high income,
but they may be able to smile all day,
be happy all day, love all day.
So this sentence is very true.
"A man is not necessarily
happy because he is rich,
or unhappy because he is poor."
"Observing all this, our ancestors
dissuaded us from luxuries and pleasures."
"Observing all this, our ancestors
dissuaded us from luxuries and pleasures."
Indulging in sensual pleasures
can bring about a lot of suffering.
This insight
is a shared insight.
It's not only found in Buddhism,
but also in Christianity,
in Judaism and in Hinduism.
So this insight,
we need to point to it text of the training.
When we read the trainings, we can see
clearly that without Dharma sharing,
without coninuous learning, it's impossible
to understand that training deeply.
So after you have received the
Five Mindfulness Trainings
you should aspire to study them
when you get back home.
Studying just one training is enough.
And that training is like
the ocean without boundaries.
The deeper we go into that training
the more we can see its depth,
because there is an ocean
of wisdom,
an ocean of love in that training.
So we have to present the
5 Mindfulness Trainings in such a way
that they contain the immense ocean
of Buddhist insight and love.
One practitioner wrote me a letter yesterday.
He said: "I have work to
do. I must leave on Tuesday.
That's why I am very sad,
because I came to Plum Village
with the intention to receive
the Five Mindfulness Trainings.
Dear Thay, please help me find a way to receive
the 5 Mindfulness Trainings before Tuesday,
as I must leave on Tuesday."
So Thay handed the letter
to brother Pháp Đôn,
and asked him to arrange for this friend
to receive the 5 trainings on Monday,
so tomorrow,
before he returns home.
And brother Pháp Đôn was very compassionate.
He has arranged
for five or six brothers
to transmit the 5 Mindfulness Trainings
for that friend.
That is heart of pursuing the precepts.
Because we know that
there are precious gems in the precepts.
When we have precepts
then we have everything.
Because the precepts
contain the Three Jewels:
the Buddha, the Dharma, the sangha;
precepts, concentration and insight.
So someone who practices
the precepts is always protected.
They no longer have anything to fear.
Someone with a precept body,
the sila body ...
that person is always protected
by the Three Jewels,
by the energies of precepts,
concentration and insight.
That's why every one of us should pursue
the precepts wholeheartedly.
For all those who stay until
the end of the Rains retreat,
you can receive the 5 trainings during
the Great Precepts Transmission Ceremony.
You can receive them in the New Lotus Season
Great Precepts Transmission Ceremony.
At the end of the year,
it seems the monastics in Bat Nha have read this already,
but the monastics in New Hamlet
and Lower Hamlet have not.
Thay hopes that after the monastics
have had a chance to read this,
they can translate it so our friends can read it i
n English, French and German.
Thay has the reports from the
Dharma sharing groups from last Thursday.
[ The sound of the bell ]