Thư viện

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, I like to talk about the topic "Do not wait..." This was the title of the article posted on Tuoi Tre newspaper (The Youth). The article was very interesting and its contents align to some of the moral values and principles in Buddhism, therefore, I like to reference this article throughout our discussion today.

Emotion is an active action of our soul that is so fundamentally essential for everbody. From a fetus in the mother’s womb to a newborn baby, everyone knows how to love, hate or fear.

It is subjective to think that everything we say, every thoughts we have are accurate and precise. In other words, we could say these people are opinionated and prejudiced. It means that we only judge things based on our own beliefs or feelings without consulting others; or having no constructive discussion to really find the truth. It is actually a seriously bad issue of human being. (We will refer as the issue throughout this discussion).

Most religions in the world endorse a fundamental belief in “being a good person and living a virtuous life.” However, upon deeper examination, Buddhism taught us faith based on wisdom and the governing law of karma.

People usually ask the following questions: “What is the purpose of this life?” the worst answer is that: “We must survive to avoid death”, it means that this person could do anything, even evil things, as long as they could live. This belief is very dangerous. However, if the mindset is not too average, and we have knowledge and good values, and we would not accept the above belief, our purpose in life is to find happiness.

There is a Vietnamese saying: “A frog sits at the bottom of the well”, which means he could only see the sky via the top of the well, hence, he always thinks that the sky is just as small. The frog likes water, and it comes and goes from one well to another. The only way he could get out of a well was for someone to take the water, when he could take the opportunity to clutch onto the bucket of water. Sometimes, though, he would think that he was trapped, so he jumped back to the well again.

Today we discuss this topic to assess our mind and soul, assess ourselves to understand what we should not do, what we must do, and be aware of what we have to try to develop and promote.

On this occasion, Xa Loi Ceremony, we would like to remind everyone the advice of To Quy Son which was about having good friends during religious practice lifetime, which is like going walking in the fog.

“It is not possible to benefit from all our blessings”- This statement has been passed down from our Patriarchs, Highly Honored Monks to the present generation. Today, we will thoroughly disseminate this statement to ascertain its meaning. Once we gain understanding of this statement, we will be able to avoid many mistakes in our life and our application/practice will be more seamless.

“It is still not enough!” is a statement to remind us every day that whenever we do something for others; or we rush to complete any work, and often think that should be enough… then it is the wrong thinking. It is really still not enough. It means we are not wise. People who are intelligent would never feel enough with what they have done, and achieved.