The Two Minds

There are two minds inside us: the impermanent mind and the permanent mind. 

The impermanent mind is subject to changes as dualistic thoughts come

and go.  This mind is never stable, for it is driven by both internal and external

factors.  As long as we are ignorant, we live with this mind, and think it is ours.

If it were ours, we should have been able to control it, making it the better way

we wanted.  Unfortunately, this mind never follows the good path we wish it to. 

It is always chasing after external factors and phenomena through our senses

and thinking.  It drives us into greed, hatred, and ignorance.  All day we live with

this mind, chasing after forms, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, and all external

phenomena.  At night, we continue to dream about what we experienced or

thought about during the day.  In other words, we dream day and night, but never

actually live.  Indeed, we never actually live, and forget all about the permanent

mind, which is our TRUE MIND.

When we practice meditation, we look inside.  We realize that the nature of the

so-called our "Mind” is only a stream of coming and going thoughts, emotions,

and other impermanent psycho-physical changes.  They are whimsical, and

unreal.  In deep concentration we are well aware that our body is still living

with every breath, every inhale and exhale.  We know this body does not need

that impermanent mind for sustenance.  We know we have another mind, which

is always there, clear and calm, fully awake, and not attached to anything, even

to this body, or to the breath, not to mention to the external events.  It has no

form; it is boundless, omnipotent and omnipresent.  We realize that we can dwell

in that True Mind forever.  At that moment, we can be liberated from all fetters

and sufferings.    

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (慧中上士; 1230- 1291) was born at Tức Mặc, Thiên Trường, Nam Định Provinve nowadays.  His name was Trần Tung (or Trần Quốc Tung).  He was a member of the royal family, with the title Hưng Ninh Vương, and also a Thiền master.  He guided King Trần Nhân Tông to Thiền, and had a great influence on the Founder King of  Trúc Lâm Yên Tử Thiền School.
He was the eldest son of An Sinh vương Trần Liễu (some historical books use the name "An Ninh vương"), and an elder brother of Hưng Đạo Vương Trần Quốc Tuấn and Queen Nguyên Thánh Thiên Cảm (named  Trần thị Thiều), King Trần Thánh Tông's wife.  He participated in both the second war against the Mongol-Yuan aggressors (1285) and the third one (1287-1288).  On June 10, 1285, together with his younger brother Hưng Đạo Vương, he led 20,000 soldiers to drive away a Yuan general named Lưu Thế Anh, and chased another named Thoát Hoan to the Như Nguyệt River (Cầu River).  In the third war, he played an important diplomatic role and came to their barracks, as if his purpose was to surrender, but taking advantage of their negligence, he ordered his troops to attack.  After the war, he was appointed the Landlord of Thái Bình.  However, he soon resigned and returned to Tịnh Bang Hamlet (Vĩnh Bảo, in the surburbs of  Hải Phòng nowadays) and established a Thiền farm called Dưỡng Chân trang.  In 1291 he passed away at the age of 61.

A Thiền Master
When he was young, he disliked fame and titles, but developed a great interest in studying Thiền.  Later he learned the Dharma with Thiền master Tiêu Dao, and practised mind training as a layperson and a public servant assuming tasks the royal court assigned him.  King Trần Thánh Tông highly respected him, and considered him the King's brother in the Dharma.  He composed many poems, some of which were collected and published in his famous work --"Thượng sĩ ngữ lục" (Thượng Sĩ's Works).

Ideas

Because he was born into a family with many disputes and controversies, and at an early age learned the Dharma with thiền master Tiêu Dao, then after that got involved in the wars against foreign aggressors, Tuệ Trung realized the true nature in life, and chose to live in harmony and peace.  When King Trần Nhân Tông asked him about the fundamental of thiền, he replied, " It is self examination, not looking outwards and asking from others."

 His Poems

Forty nine poems of his were found and arranged in Thượng sĩ ngữ lục (Thượng Sĩ's Works).  The following three are from  that work:

養真 (Dưỡng Chân, Nuôi dưỡng chân tính) Nurturing the True Nature 衰 颯 形 骸 豈 足 云 非 關 老 鶴 避 雞 群 千 青 萬 翠 迷 鄉 國 海 角 天 頭 是 養 真 Suy táp hình hài khởi túc vân, Phi quan lão hạc tị kê quần; Thiên thanh vạn thuý mê hương quốc, Hải giác thiên đầu thị dưỡng chân. (Chinese Vietnamese) Thân xác hao gầy há đáng than, Phải đâu hạc cả lánh gà đàn; Nghìn xanh muôn thuý mờ non nước, Góc biển lưng trời: nơi dưỡng chân. (Vietnamese) It is not worth lamenting about the worn out body, It is not a big crane hiding from a flock of chickens; Beyond the deep blue sky lies the homeland, Amidst the sea and the sky rests the true nature. 澗底松 (Giản để tùng, Cây tùng ở đáy khe) The Cedar by the Creek 最 愛 青 松 種 幾 年 休 嗟 地 勢 所 居 偏 棟 樑 未 用 人 休 怪 野 草 閑 花 滿 目 前 Tối ái thanh tùng chủng kỉ niên, Hưu ta địa thế sở cư thiên; Đống lương vị dụng nhân hưu quái, Dã thảo nhàn hoa mãn mục tiền. Thương cội tùng xanh tuổi bấy niên, Đừng than thế mọc lệch cùng xiên; Cột rường chưa dụng người thôi lạ, Cỏ dại hoa hèn trước mắt chen.  O green cedar of many years, Never complain over your slanting position; Strangers do not know your value, Among the crowds of weeds and wild flowers. 照身/瞾身 (Chiếu thân, Soi mình) 焦 頭 爛 額 被 金 袍 五 七 年 間 是 廠 槽 縱 也 超 群 兼 拔 萃 一 回 放 下 一 回 高 Tiêu đầu lạn ngạch bị kim bào, Ngũ thất niên gian thị xưởng tào; Túng dã siêu quần kiêm bạt tụy, Nhất hồi phóng hạ nhất hồi cao. Sém đầu giập trán vận kim bào, Ta bấy năm nay: chốn xưởng tào; Hễ đã hơn người và vượt bậc, Vẻ vang rồi lại đến lao đao. The sword almost cut the head, and the forehead got bruised when I was wearing the royal cape, I have been there for fifty seven years; Doing better than others, and excelling all, Rising up gloriously then tumbling into hardship.

A Legend  
One day the Mother Queen Nguyên Thánh Thiên Cảm hosted a banquet in the royal palace.  On the dining table there were both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.  Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ ate without distinguishing the two kinds of foods.  The Mother Queen asked: “You practice meditation, but you ate fish and meat.  How could you attain Buddhahood?”   He laughed and replied: “Buddhas are Buddhas; I am myself.  I do not need to attain Buddhahood, and Buddhas need not become me.  Haven't you heard this saying from ancient sages: 'Manjusri is Manjusri (Văn Thù); liberation is liberation'?” At the banquet was King Trần Nhân Tông, who had some doubts about this issue, and could not understand the implication in  Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ's answer, but did not raise any question yet.

Source:
http://vi.wikipedia.org

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (1230-1291)-- His Freedom of Thinking and Non Attachment --Part III

Not only did he advocate non-attachment to precepts, Tuệ Trung also criticized practitioners who were attached to the formalities in meditation practice, hence getting fettered themselves.  That was why he said:

If meeting Gautama, who got used to freezing cold,

I would not restrain from kicking His hip.

Gautama is the name of an Enlightened One.  Tuệ Trung used the name to refer to those who got enlightened.  Tuệ Trung was a Buddhist follower who did not observe precepts rigidly, nor did he pray to Buddhas.  He even said that if he had met Gautama, he would have kicked against His hip.  This sounds challenging, and unacceptable for a Buddhist like Tuệ Trung.  But in accordance with the Thiền spirit, doctrines, precepts, and even Buddhas are only the means, not the ultimate goal.   Once enlightened, the practitioner needs to abandon or throwing down everything, including Buddhas.  Only the fully enlightened could have such a view.  During the Trần Dynasty not only Tuệ Trung but also King Trần Thái Tông held the view that “ there is no Buddha, nor is there any Patriarch,” and, similarly, no precepts, nor chanting sutras with the bell and the wooden fish.  In otherwords, enlightenment is in the mind and heart, by one’s own efforts, and not praying for help from outsiders.  That way he was against the attachment attitudes and blind religious faith.   

Some misunderstood Tuệ Trung’s non-attachment to precept observance, and said that Tuệ Trung could get enlightened without using any means.  That was completely wrong, for he did practice thiền/meditation.  In his teachings,  Tuệ Trung also relied on Dharma teachings, which he considered as a means.  However, once one gets enlightened, the means becomes useless.  That was the fundamental idea in Tuệ Trung’s philosophy of enlightenment.

Based on that philosophy, when asked who the meditation practitioner needed to prostrate to first, the Patriarch or the Buddha, Tuệ Trung said, “Neither.”  He then recited the following gatha:

Once we were strolling freely,

The Stupa owner rolled his eyes and got angry at us,

because we did not prostrate to either the Buddha or the Patriarch.

For we have the jewel and the clear autumn light within.

Paying homage or prostrating to the Buddha and the Patriarch are formalities created by humans whose minds get used to looking outwards.  Tuệ Trung’s not doing so reflected the true nature of the Way.  The purpose of Buddhism is to look inwards and examine the mind, in order to return to “the old  home,” as Tuệ Trung said.   Therefore, if we are blindly attached to the doctrines, we will become our own slaves.  

From the view that Buddha is within us, not without, Tuệ Trung confirmed that enlightenment could be attained right in this worldly life, not in another world.  The Buddhist follower should lead a simple normal life, and try to attain enlightenment in that mundane life.  [The author of History of Vietnam Thought, Vol. 1, wrote,” Tuệ Trung’s idea of a socially engaged life is that Buddhist practitioners could lead a normal secular life, free from any precepts, or monastic rules, including having a vegetable diet, chanting Buddhas’ names, observing the precept of forebearance/tolerance, and sitting meditation, for they may realize their Buddha Nature right in this mundane life.”]

Tuệ Trung’s non-attachment in Thiền not only reveals an enlightened Thiền master’s thought.  It also reflects a practical view of a layperson.  This perception about non attachment shows us the nature of the Way.  At the same time it opposes the illusion and ignorance in some Buddhist followers by pointing out that eating non-vegetable foods does not make the eater pure or impure.  Instead, it is the impure mind filled with attachment, selfishness, deceitfulness, arrogance, and ill will and greed,etc., that makes a person impure....According to Buddhist rules for novices, humans must eat to live; so whatever food offered by the donors must be consumed, and should not be wasted.

To Tuệ Trung, there is hardly any difference between a Buddha and an ordinary being except with regard to the distinction about enlightenment and illusion.  Humans, therefore, often compare Buddhas and beings to two persimmons: one is sweet (the enlightened), the other, bitter (the ignorant).  Tuệ Trung advised Dharma learners to understand the fundamental nature of issues, which is often hidden in apparently illogical statements.  Although his words and behaviors appeared to be against Buddhist doctrines, they actually confirmed that he was truly an excellent Thiền master.  His ideas never distort the doctrines; in fact, they awaken Buddhist learners.  That is why Tuệ Trung's Thiền should be considered a valuable and unique legacy in Oriental culture in general, and in Vietnamese culture in particular –one that must be well respected and carefully preserved.

With his view on enlightenment without attaching to precepts or abandoning practical responsibilities toward the nation, Tuệ Trung became a typical thinker and Buddhist representative of his time.  His life was that of an enlightened payperson who was fully aware of his way of living and behaving, free from dualistic thinking about religious appropriation vs. inappropriation.  His way of living was inherited selectively from the cultural values which he had learned from previous enlightened Thiền masters such as Tiêu Dao, Quy Sơn, Tạ Tam, Thạch Đầu, Lão Bàng, etc.

Tuệ Trung thought that the enlightened one needed to mingle with the mundane world.  He said:

When you come to the country of the naked, you should take off your clothes with joy,

It does not mean you do not know how to act decently; it simply means you obey the people’s mundane rules.

He referred to a legend in ancient China which was about a country where people went naked, and a visiting king also had to follow the rules and took off his clothes.  Tuệ Trung implied that when mingling with the multitude, one had to follow their rules, customs, and life style, etc.  Even going naked if necessary would not be considered indecent.  He told us to respect local culture, and to understand the mundane way of living thoroughly.  Tuệ Trung practiced meditation, but never left the ordinary and mundane world. 

Tuệ Trung’s view about the enlightened one’s way of living is similar to King Trần Thái Tông’s thoughts.  Both considered formalities and practice methods (or the means) were for those who had not attained enlightenment.  The enlightened no longer had to rely on the means, such as observing precepts, chanting sutras with the bell and the wooden fish.  Tuệ Trung inherited this way of living from the tradition of Thiền, especially from his Thiền master Tiêu Dao.  ....Besides, he was also influenced by the socially engaged philosophy from Hui Neng (Huệ Năng), the Sixth Patriarch in China.  Huệ Năng said that Buddhist Dharma is to be found right in the mundane world.  It is useless to find the Dharma elsewhere, just as one tries to find the horn on the hare’s head, or the hair on the turtle’s body.  Impossible.  Buddhist Dharma is right here in this world.

Tuệ Trung became a glorious star in Vietnamese Buddhism during the Lý and Trần Dynasties.  However, the unique and outstanding aspect of his thought is the idea of “dwelling in the mundane world but continuing to shine brightly.” This is the most striking aspect of his thoughts.  It was his individual characteristic that distinguished him from Trần Thái Tông and Trần Nhân Tông in epistemology.
Tuệ Trung also helped to make Việt Nam Buddhism different from Chinese Buddhism in his view about enlightenment not only for oneself but also for others.  His work collection, Thượng Sĩ Ngữ Lục, may be considered a synthesis of Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese Buddhism.  It advocated the view of  Buddhism engagement in the mundane world, and it is a great contribution to Buddhist and national culture in Việt Nam, against the assimilation trends of foreign invaders. 

 A layperson yet a scholar well verse in Buddhism, Tuệ Trung had contributed a unique view in epistemology, a combination of Thiền, non-dualism, non-attachment with his own learning.  To him, it was a learning process, not only accumulated through learning, but also from perception that changed with time.  He advised people to live in accordance with the laws of nature.  He had repeated this advice several times when he talked about his views on birth-death, precepts, and thiền.      

Since he acknowledged the value of learning, Tuệ Trung advocated the idea that “meditation practice/thiền and learning the Dharma should go hand in hand,” which later thrived in Vietnamese Buddhism.  His contributions show that he is an exemplary thinker, a Thiền philosopher, and a colossal figure in the establishment of national culture.

Source:
Nguyen Duc Dien.  The Non-Attachment View in Tue Trung Thuong Si's Thien. (Quan diem pha chap trong thien hoc cua Tue Trung Thuong Si).  04/14/2012
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/10699-Quan-diem-Pha-chap-trong-thien-hoc-cua-Tue-Trung-Thuong-Si.html

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (1230-1291)-- His Freedom of Thinking and Non Attachment --Part II

From the viewpoint of emptiness nature, enlightenment must be attained by each individual.  Tuệ Trung challenged praying and relying on Buddha or on meditation.  He said,

Thanh Văn sit in meditation, I myself do not.

Boddhisattvas disseminate the Dharma, but I tell the truth.

In Buddhist terminology, Thanh Văn are those who get enlightened by chanting sutras, and listening to Dharma talks.  From their level, they need to practice Buddhism further in order to attain Boddhisattva-hood.  Tuệ Trung said that Buddha is in our Mind, inside us, not from without.  Both the unwiseand the wise have Buddha Nature.  The individual’s ignorance or enlightenment decides whether s/he is actually u wise or wise.   Tuệ Trung was different from a Thanh Văn in that he became a wise man who had attained certain levels of enlightenment.  That was why he said he no longer needed sitting meditation, while Thanh Văn still needed that practice.  Therefore, he wrote,“Thanh Văn sit in meditation, I myself do not.”

On the other hand, although he got enlightened, Tuệ Trung was different from Bodhisattvas in that he told the truth while Bodhisattvas disseminated the Dharma.  By “the truths” he meant the true nature of all phenomena, and also the current issues of his times, for he actually contributed actively to national thought at the time.  According to the author of History of Vietnam Buddhism , it is Tuệ Trung’s relativism that helped him from getting bogged down in nihilism.  It also helped him get rid of all fetters in daily life as well as in his way of thinking.  Tuệ Trung was not only a layperson who mastered Budhhist Dharma, but also a great general in the Trần Dynasty.  He practiced Buddhism for his own enlightenment, and also for the sake of others (to help others get enlightened).  He never became a nihilist.  His thoughts pointed out to successive Buddhist followers that  if they continued to chant sutras with the bell and the wooden fish, but did not realize their True Mind, then they could never reach enlightenment.      

This is the same as  “talking about Emptiness,” but never realizing it; hence it is useless.  Enlightenment requires practice on mind training, not mere chanting.  Because chanting without mind training is only an illusion, a flash of lightening that comes and goes away temporarily.

(To be continued)

Source:
Nguyen Duc Dien.  Quan diem pha chap trong thien hoc cua Tue Trung Thuong Si. 04/14/2012
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/10699-Quan-diem-Pha-chap-trong-thien-hoc-cua-Tue-Trung-Thuong-Si.html

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (1230-1291)-- His Freedom of Thinking and Non Attachment

Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ Trần Tung (1230-1291) was an excellent disciple of Thiền Master Tiêu Dao, who was well-known at the end of the  Lý Dynasty.  Tuệ Trung was not only King Trần Nhân Tông’s teacher, but also a giant figure of the Trúc Lâm School, and a great thinker of Đại Việt (Vietnam nowadays).  His life and accomplishments were good examples for Buddhism during the Trần Dynasty and for academic life at that time.  As a thiền scholar and master, he had made fundamental contributions to the philosophy of Trúc Lâm Thiền  School in Việt Nam, particularly his freedom of thinking and non-attachment.           

In Buddhism, freedom of thinking and non-attachment is expressed in the ways of thinking and living that go beyond the language in scriptures and Dharma teachings.  It is a renewal, or a revolution, in perception and action.  It implies learning the tradition with a critical mind.  

Freedom of thinking and non-attachment appeared very early in the history of Buddhism.  The Buddha said, “ For 49 years of Dharma teaching, I haven’t said a word.”  He meant that His followers should recognize the essence of His teachings, not relying on the language He used.  In Viên giác Sutra we learn that the Buddha’s teachings are like a finger pointing to the moon.  One must see the moon, and forget the finger.  All Buddhas’ and Boddhisattvas’ teachings are like moon-pointing fingers.        

When Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam, Vietnamese Thiền masters welcomed this spirit of free thinking and non-attachment.  Learning it from his Thiền predecessors, Tuệ Trung was especially interested in thinking beyond doctrines, which led to direct enlightenment through abandoning dualistic thinking, and dwelling in the True Mind or True Nature.  According to Tuệ Trung, in order to get enlightened, the Buddhist practitioner needs to “break” not only the chain of dualistic thinking, but also all concepts.  Hence, his methods helped to liberate the follower from attachment to doctrine teachings.  These non-attachment methods were to be applied in all aspects in Dharma practice, but they fundamentally focused on precepts, concentration, and wisdom, or the three phases on the path to enlightenment (recognition of the True Mind).      

In Buddhism precepts are usually considered the basis for enlightenment.  To Tuệ Trung, precepts are only the means which the practitioner should go beyond.   He wanted Buddhist followers to understand the implications of precept observance.  Besides precepts, Tuệ Trung also explained many other issues in scriptures in the same way.  He taught his disciples through dialogues, and often  used koans.  Once asked “What is the Purified Dharmakaya?”, Tuệ Trung answered:

                                         Stepping in and out of a buffalo’s urine;

                                         Hiding in the midst of a horse’s droppings.

He advised us not to waste time arguing about unsolvable things.  He wanted to move beyond any attempts to explain Buddhist teachings.  When asked about “How to reach enlightenment,” he said that when there was no dirty thought arising, one was dwelling in the clear True Mind.   Then he read this poem:

There has been nothing clean nor dirty,

The Dharmakaya is not attached to anything

Whether worldly or purified!

Clean or dirty are mere designations.

 

“Clean” or “dirty” are concepts created by human minds to refer to spiritual purity or impurity.  To Tuệ Trung, they were one.  Because we are ignorant, we discriminate “clean” from “dirty”, but everyone has Buddha Nature, and should embrace free thinking in order to become non-attached to such discriminations, and to dwell in the ultimate reality, free from such concepts.

Another time when asked about the meaning of  “Emptiness is form; form is Emptiness” (Prajnaparamita Sutra), he answered, ”Do humans have body form?  Then why do we say ‘Form is Emptiness?’  Do humans see Emptiness?  Then why do we say, 'Emptiness is form'?"  Tuệ Trung then recited the following gatha:

Form is not Emptiness.

Emptiness is not Form.

The above gatha appears to be against what is in the scriptures.  However, Tuệ Trung  only wanted to criticize those who, because of ignorance, had strong attachment, and could not tell illusion from reality, and became so attached to concepts.  Fundamentally, both form and Emptiness are illusory designations created by the discriminative and dualistic mind.  Then he said,

Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is form,

Three generations of Buddhas named these with wisdom flexibility

Emptiness itself has no form; Form is empty, too,

The True Nature is eternally bright, never lost nor gained.

Tuệ Trung explained to Buddhist followers that form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.  They are one, and both are empty by nature.  Because humans are ignorant, they separate form from emptiness, and split one into two.  Once they are enlightened, they will see all is empty.  Buddhas of the past, the present, and the future consider the Buddha’s teachings as the means or the method to teach how to attain enlightenment.  By nature, emptiness does not contain any form, and form does not contain any emptiness.  The True Nature is always bright and clear, never lost nor gained.   If one realizes that implication, one understands the Way.

(To be continued)

Source:
Nguyen Duc Dien.  Quan diem pha chap trong thien hoc cua Tue Trung Thuong Si. 04/14/2012
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/10699-Quan-diem-Pha-chap-trong-thien-hoc-cua-Tue-Trung-Thuong-Si.html

An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation Methods --Part III

2c.Thiền Schools:
These meditation methods originated in Chan(Thiền) Schools in China. Bodhidhamma came from India to Shaolin (Thiếu Lâm)Temple, China, and sat in meditation facing the wall for nine years without talking or meeting with anyone. One winter day, Shénguāng (Thần Quang), a thiền practitioner, came for Dharma learning. He silently waited outside, until snow accumulated high up to his knees (waist? --Wikipedia). In the morning when Bodhidhamma knew that, he turned his head around, and asked:
“What do you expect when you came here and had to endure such hardship?“
Shénguāng replied, ”Would you please open the compassion door to teach us?”
“Even when one has spent many lives diligently practicing Buddhas’ noble and exalted Dhamma, made great efforts to accomplish things that are very hard to accomplish, endured ordeals that are difficult to endure, one can hardly achieve the ultimate goal. Not to mention begging for the True Dhamma with your little effort standing in the cold snow.”
Shénguāng, upon hearing this, used his own sword to cut his arm and presented it to Bodhidhamma. The latter knew this was not an ordinary man, but a strong-willed Dhamma disciple. He said, “In the beginning, Buddhas would sacrifice their bodies for the Dharma. You have cut your arm and presented it to me, you must have a strong will for the Dhamma.”
This story first tells us Buddhist Dhamma is highly exalted for it liberates us from birth and death; second, those who chose to follow the Buddha have to have a strong will and courage, and must be ready to sacrifice their bodies for their ultimate goal. Those practitioners who do not have such a will won’t make any progress.
After that Shénguāng asked, “ What is the core of Buddhist Dhamma? May I ask?”
“It cannot be obtained from others.”
"My mind has no peace. Please pacify my mind.”
“Bring out your mind; I will.”
Shénguāng reflected for a long time, but could not find his mind. He said, “I tried to, but couldn’t find it.”
“Then I have pacified your mind.”
Shénguāng immediately understood, and realized the True Mind. Bodhidhamma gave him the name Huike(Huệ Khả).
We have always thought that the monkey mind, full of one after another illusory thought, is ours. Therefore, we never have peace. Bodhidhamma told Shénguāng to bring his restless mind to him, that means he wanted the disciple to self reflect, and to find where that mind is from. Once Shénguāng reflected on his mind, all the restlessness was gone, and the mind was pacified (the True Mind appeared). That is the method of pacifying the mind, and of developing concentration. This is also called self reflection; we reflect inward on our minds.
Bodhidhamma’s teachings were very clear, simple, and practical. It is not too difficult to accomplish.
Later, Huike (Huệ Khả) also taught Shengcan (Tăng Xán) in the same way. One day a lay person came to the Patriarch and said, “I have leprosy, please have pity and compassion on me, and allow me to repent."
The Patriarch said, “If you could bring your sins out here, I would help you repent.”
The lay person was stunned for a while, then said, “ I could not find any.”
“I already let you repent.”
In the first case, the practitioner tried to find the mind; in the second case, the practitioner tried to look for the sins. Repentance is also a way to self reflect.
Later on, Shengcan taught Daoxin (Đạo Tín) in the same way. Daoxin came to prostrate in front of the Patriarch, and said, “Would you please teach me the method of liberation?”
The Patriarch said, “ Who tied you up?”
“Nobody, Your Respected Most Venerable.”
“If not fettered, you need not be liberated.”
Daoxin immediately got enlightened.
Those masters who got enlightened always looked inward and self-reflected or examined to see if illusory thoughts, karma, sins, and fetters were real. Realizing that they all were illusions, unreal and unsubstantial, the masters got enlightened, and attained the ultimate goal of meditation practice. Such method is called self examination or self reflection.

Before the Song Dynasty, Chan (Thiền) had not had Koan meditation methods. Since the Song Dynasty, many Chinese Chan masters in the Linji School noticed that most monks and nuns might have understood Chan theoretically, but actually did not practice it. Therefore, they started to teach Koan, so as to stop monks and nuns from studying without practice, and from theoretical talking.

Koan methods are those in which the practitioner has to focus his/her concentration on the koan which the master gave until s/he got enlightened.
Because at present, the majority of our monks, nuns, and Buddhist lay people have not understood the ultimate goal of meditation practice well enough, so I did not want to introduce Koan methods; I simply teach how to meditate first, so that later on, once they have understood it, they may know the path to follow and practice correctly. That is we have to use the method that is the most appropriate to our current situation and our time, as well as to suit contemporary practitioners’ spiritual levels.

C. Conclusion
Thiền is a practical method that suits modern scientific spirit. Our mind is full of arising illusory thoughts (sufferings). If we know how to observe them, we will help our minds calm down, and have no sufferings any more, but filled with tranquility. The more/longer we practice meditation, the more benefits we may gain – very clear, straightforward, and not farfetched at all. Illusions and sufferings are unreal, while our Buddha Nature is real, but covered by illusions and sufferings. If we unveil the clouds of illusions and sufferings, our True Nature will appear. Such is the essential of our meditation practice.

Sources:

Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/3355-Gioi-thieu-duong-loi-tu-thien-cua-Phat-giao.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huike

The Art of Living

Living
Attachment tends to lead to negative consequences, whereas love and compassion lead to positive consequences. (p.20)
The sense of contentment is the key factor for attaining happiness. Bodily health, material wealth, and companions and friends are three factors for happiness. Contentment is the key that will determine the outcome of your relations with all three of these factors. (p. 23)
Good conduct is the way in which life becomes more meaningful, more constructive, and more peaceful. (p. 25)
The only option is to live and work together harmoniously, and keep in our minds the interest of the whole humanity. (p. 107)

Dying
If there is a way to overcome the suffering, then there is no need to worry; if there is no way to overcome the suffering, then there is no use in worrying.
Shantideva (p. 39)
Death is part of our lives (pp. 39-40)
Within the seed of the cause of events is the seed for their cessation and disintegration.
Death is at the intervening stage when the elements dissolve into the Clear Light and from there re-arise in another form. (p. 54)
It is peace of mind at the time of death which is the foundation for cultivating the proper motivation, and that is the immediate guarantee of a good rebirth, of a better life to come. (p. 58)

Compassion
One can overcome the forces of negative emotions, like anger and hatred, by cultivating their counterforces, like love and compassion. (p. 90)
...by nature we are compassionate,...compassion is something very necessary, and something which we can develop....genuine compassion is based on a clear acceptance or recognition that others, like oneself, want happiness and have the right to overcome suffering. On that basis one develops some kind of concern about the welfare of others, irrespective of their attitude toward oneself. That is compassion. (p. 99)
Genuine compassion is based on reason. By contrast, attachment is narrow-minded and biased. ...to develop genuine compassion you must first practice the meditation of equalization and equanimity, detaching yourself from those people who are very close to you. Then you must remove negative feelings toward your enemies. All sentient beings should be looked on as equal. ...genuine compassion is not like pity or a feeling that others are somehow lower than yourself. ...with genuine compassion you view others as more important than yourself. (p.101)

Interdependence
Characteristics of dependent origination: 1. Because the cause exists, the effect follows. 2. The very cause which brings about the effects must itself have a cause. 3. The effect must be commensurate with the cause. There must be a concordance between the two....there must be a sort of special relationship between cause and effect.(pp. 137-138)
To have a happier future, you have to take care of everything that is related to yourself. (p. 141)

Emptiness
What is the mechanism that really leads an individual to act against what he or she fundamentally desires (i.e., happiness)? Here Buddha points to the role of afflictive emotions and thoughts, like anger, hatred, attachment, and so forth, which blind the person's understanding of the nature of reality....the person has a rather false notion of self: there is a kind of unquestioned assumption of an independently existing "I"....something there which is somehow identified as the core of the being, the self,...a strong sort of grasping at that kind of identity or being. Based on that, you have strong emotional experiences....even in our day-today life we often find a disparity between the way we perceive things and the way things really exist. (pp. 143-144)
Nagarjuna identifies two types of ignorance: one is grasping at an inherent or intrinsic reality of one's own self or being; the other is grasping an inherent and independent existence of external events and things. (p. 150)
The true meaning of Emptiness is the interdependence nature of reality. Dependent origination can dispel extremes of both absolutism and nihilism. (p. 156)
As your insight into the ultimate nature of reality and Emptiness is deepened and enhanced, you will develop a perception of reality from which you will perceive phenomena and events as sort of illusory, illusion-like, and this mode of perceiving reality will permeate all your interactions with reality. (p. 161)
The concept of time, the idea of Clear Light, and even Emptiness itself, are not absolute. We cannot speak of them as independently existing entities. Therefore the Buddha taught the Emptiness of Emptiness. If we were to take Emptiness as an object and then again examine it, we cannot find it. (pp.162-165)

Interfaith
...the most important task of any religious practitioner is to examine oneself...and try to transform one's body, speech, and mind, and act according to the teachings and the principles of one's religious tradition....if one's faith remains only at the intellectual level, ...that is a grave mistake. (pp. 169-170)

Source:
The Dalai Lama. The Art of Living:A Guide to Contentment, Joy and Fulfillment. (Hammersmith, London: Thorsons, HarperCollins Publishers, 2001)

Four Wisdom Paths

This talk encourages us to use our own wisdom in daily life judgment and in choosing the right path for spiritual development. It introduces us to the four paths of wisdom. With wisdom, one can recognize who and what to rely on and to follow.
The talk contains four simple mottos:
1. Rely on the teachings, not the teachers.
2. Rely on the meanings, not the words.
3. Rely on the depth, not the superficial
4. Rely on wisdom, not on concepts.


Teachings, not Teachers

Choose a spiritual teacher is like choosing a surgeon. Do not be attracted by the appearance of a teacher (or charisma). Never let appearances fool you. Although you may benefit from reading books at the beginning of your Dharma studies, finding a right teacher is necessary for your spiritual development in the end. Criteria to choose the right teacher: the teacher’s skills in Dharma teaching; his/her understanding of meditation; and his/her knowledge about (understanding of) the Dharma. It is not easy to find a teacher who is good at both meditation and Dharma philosophy. And it is even more difficult to find a teacher who is good at meditation than to find one that is academically good at Dharma philosophy, although the latter may be good at teaching meditation at the basic level. However, at higher levels of meditation practice, you need a true master of meditation who actually made considerable progress and has attained merits on the Dharma Path.

A true Dharma teacher teaches what the Buddha said, and not what the teacher wants to say. Therefore understanding Buddhist teachings is very important. Beginners need to read books about the historical Buddha, His great disciples in the past, and the well-known and well- respected Dharma masters in history.

Meanings, not Words or Language

Impressive language may attract you, and influence you. But it is the meaning that counts. The meaning must be true. What are the criteria for true language?
First, it must be useful or bring benefits. Second, it must be true or correct. Words used become secondary to these two criteria. However, the right diction makes it easy to understand and listen to with joy.

Sometimes flowery language may be harmful, and carries no beneficial meaning. If you trust such words, you may be harmed.

Depth, not the Superficial

Many of us make judgments hastily and recklessly by relying on what others said or taught, or on traditions and stereotypes. For one’s spiritual development, it is very important to explore and study the Dharma teachings for yourself. Buddhism never advocates blind faith. In fact, you cannot make any progress on your spiritual development if you accept the ordinary and the mediocre. Buddha’s teachings are beneficial to various levels of understanding, depending on the listener’s or the practitioner’s level and ability. Even His basic and simple teachings carry profound messages for those who can recognize such meanings in them. Vishubandu said when you find a solution to one small problem, you may get to the breakthrough of a giant issue – your own ignorance. This can be achieved through meditation. You should not feel satisfied with your own shallow thoughts, nor should you criticize others.

Wisdom, not Concepts

This is what the most serious meditation practitioner aims their practice at –wisdom development in order to realize the True Mind. In order to attain this goal, you cannot think the dualistic way; you must become one with the True Mind. Meditation practitioners do not rely on the dualistic language and thinking. Logic and language cannot help one attain the ultimate goal, to become one with the True Mind. However persuasive and impressive our thoughts and language may be, they still cannot describe Enlightenment.

Conclusion

Remember to use these four paths of wisdom. Do not mislead yourself and others. Use the sword of wisdom to cut off all dualistic thoughts.

Source:
Shamar Rinpoche’s Dharma Talk at Phowa Ceremony at Bohdi Path, VA, on June 20, 2004.
http://www.thuvienhoasen.org/images/upload/PDF_Books/BonConDuongCuaTriTue.pdf

Practicing Wisdom--Part III

Root text: "Wisdom," the ninth chapter of The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) by Shantideva

Faith and Intelligence
Nagarjuna, the second-century Indian master, states that both faith and intelligence are crucial factors for our spiritual development, and, of the two, faith is the foundation. He clearly states , however, that for faith to have sufficient power to drive our spiritual progress, we need intelligence, a faculty that can enable us to recognize the right path and to cultivate deep insights. Your understanding should not remain, however, merely at the level of knowledge and intellect. Rather it should be integrated into your heart and mind so that there is a direct impact on your conduct. Otherwise your study of Buddhism will be purely intellectual and will have no effect on your attitudes, your conduct, and your way of life. (p. 3)

Ignorance-a profound disparity between our perception of reality and reality
What is unique to the Buddhist teaching is that underlying its entire spiritual path is the premise that there is a profound disparity between our perception of reality and the way things really are. This disparity at the heart of our being leads to all sorts of psychological confusion, emotional afflictions, disappointments and frustrations –in a word, suffering. Even in our day-to-day life, we are constantly exposed to situations where we feel deceived, disillusioned, and so on. One of the most effective antidotes to this type of situation is to consciously develop our knowledge, widen our perspectives, and become more familiar with the world. By doing this, we will find ourselves more able to cope with adversities, and to be not so constantly in a state of frustration and disillusionment. (p. 7)

Suffering
Three kinds of sufferings: 1.obvious sufferings (pain…); 2. the suffering of change (transient nature of pleasurable sensations…); 3.the pervasive suffering of conditioning (the nature of our existence…) (pp.8-9)

The Path to Enlightenment
A specific procedure for proceeding on the path to enlightenment: 1. avert the effects of negative and troublesome states of mind as they manifest in our behavior; first, we take refuge in the Three Jewels, lead an ethically disciplined life, restrain from the ten negative actions 2. generating insights into the nature of no-self or emptiness; overcome grasping at self, or intrinsic existence; practice the three higher training (ethical discipline, meditation, wisdom) 3. the total elimination of all distorted views; overcome not only our afflictive and negative states of mind, and overcome the predispositions and habits formed by these deluded states. This final stage is achieved through combining insight into emptiness with universal compassion. (pp. 13-14)
Aryadeva's Four Hundred Verses on the Middle Way (Chatushatakashastra)

Contemplative Practice on the Subtle Impermanence
Reflect upon the subtle impermanence, the dynamic process, the momentary , ever-changing nature of phenomena. This is not confined to external objects; it extends also to our mindstream. Although there is a continuum, if we reflect upon individual instances of our cognitive events –the emotions, thoughts, and mental states that we have—we will find that they are all momentarily changing. They never remain still. So reflect upon this moment-to-moment, changing and dynamic nature of internal and external phenomena. This, in brief, is how you can contemplate the subtle impermanence of all things and events. (p. 45)

Source:
The Dalai Lama. Practicing Wisdom: The Perfection of Shantideva's Bodhisattva Way. (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc., 2005).

Practicing Wisdom--Part II

...we need to distinguish between emptiness, which is the ultimate nature of reality, and being in the nature of emptiness. For example, conventional phenomena, such as things and events, cannot be said to be emptiness as such, but are in the nature of emptiness in that they are empty of intrinsic existence. From the perspective of the meditative equipoise that perceives emptiness directly and is totally fused with that realization, conventional phenomena do not exist because they are not perceptible to someone in that meditative equipoise. (p. 128)

Nirvana is a state where afflictions have completely come to an end, and where karma has lost its potency to produce rebirths....Karma is created by afflictions, afflictions are created by conceptual thought processes, and the conceptual thought processes are fueled by dualistic elaborations, which here refers to the ignorant mind grasping onto the true existence of phenomena. Therefore, the causes giving rise to rebirth in cyclic existence are karma and afflictions. Grasping onto true existence can only be eliminated by generating insight into emptiness. (p.129)

Practicing Wisdom

Chapter 7 Emptiness According to the Middle Way School

According to Hinayanists, without realizing emptiness, it is still possible to attain full liberation from cyclic existence through the realization of the four noble truths.

The Madhyamika states that even in order to gain freedom from cyclic existence, the realization of emptiness is indispensable. (p. 76)
....the root cause of bondage to cyclic existence is ignorance grasping at the true existence of phenomena. Without cutting this root cause, there is no possibility of attaining liberation. Without the realization of emptiness, meditation on emptiness will be merely remaining in a non-conceptual state. Simply shutting out thoughts can never lead to full liberation from cyclic existence. (p. 76)

According to Shantideva, only in the Mahayana teachings can be found a path that involves full realization of emptiness (no self of persons and phenomena), that is, the path to full enlightenment. (pp. 76-77)
As long as craving remains, the conditions for taking rebirth will be present within the individual's mental continuum. (p. 78)
....just like the case where someone remains in a nonconceptual, thoughtless state, and when he or she comes out of that absorptive state, the conceptual thought processes start again. (p. 78)

...within the mind of that so-called arhat, there persists a subtle grasping at true existence. (p.79)
It is not adequate to realize only the gross levels of selflessness (i.e., no self). (p. 79)

If there were such a thing called "I" or "self", then there would be a basis from which fear could arise. (Shantideva) (pp.84-85)

Chandrakirti's commentary on Four Hundred Verses: no things or events exist by means of autonomous forces. Rather, they exist only by their dependence upon other causes and conditions --other factors. Therefore, they do not possess any ontological status that is independent and autonomous. Such a status is called self. Since all things and events are devoid of such independent, autonomous existence, they are said to be absent or empty of self-existence. (p. 86)

Emptiness is the total dissolution of all dualistic elaborations. (Nagarjuna)
(p. 128)


Source:
The Dalai Lama. Practicing Wisdom: The Perfection of Shantideva's Bodhisattva Way. (Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, Inc., 2005).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinayana#H.C4.ABnay.C4.81na_and_Therav.C4.81da

Some Characteristics of Vietnamese Buddhism

On April 6, 1996 Most Venerable Thich Thanh Tu gave a talk titled "Some Characteristics of Vietnamese Buddhism" at the Vietnam's Popular Arts and Culture Association in Hanoi. In this talk he mentioned six characteristics of Vietnamese Buddhism, which are essentially related to Thiền schools and practice in Vietnam. The six charateristics are:

1.Thiền plays a fundamental role in Vietnamese Buddhism. At the beginning of the history of Buddhism in Vietnam, there were three Thiền schools: a. Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi [(zh. 毘尼多流支, sa. vinītaruci), ?-594, also called Diệt Hỉ (滅喜), an Indian monk who came to China, and became Sengcan's enlightened disciple, and who founded the Vinītaruci School in thiền Việt Nam in the 6th century.] b.Vô Ngôn Thông [(zh. 無言通), 759?-826, was a Thiền master in China, and disciple of the famous Thiền master Bách Trượng Hoài Hải. In 820, he came to Việt Nam, and stayed at Kiến Sơ Temple(zh. 建初寺), in Hà Nội nowadays, and founded Vô Ngôn Thông School. He demised in 826, and his school lasted for 17 generations.], and c. Thảo Ðường Thiền School. [In 1069 when King Lý Thánh Tông conquered Chiêm Thành, according to An Nam chí lược by Lê Tắc, there was a monk among the war prisoners. The monk came to Chiêm Thành from China to disseminate Buddhist Dharma. His name was Thảo Ðường, and he was a disciple of Master Trùng Hiển (980-1052), the third generation of the Vân Môn Thiền Sect in Tuyết Đậu Mountain (Chiết Giang, China). Vân Môn and Tuyết Ðậu (or Minh Giác the Great Master) were scholarly monks who introduced Thiền and Buddhism to Chinese scholars and Confucians. This incorporation between Confucianism and Buddhism dominated Chinese thinking at the beginning of the Song Dynasty. This characteristic had a strong influence on Vietnamese Buddhism in the Trần Dynasty in Việt Nam. King Lý Thánh Tông assigned Thảo Đường National Master (Quốc sư) in 1069, and invited him to become the abbot at Khai Quốc Temple (Trấn Quốc Temple nowadays)in Thăng Long, the ancient capital which is Hanoi today. Thảo Ðường Thiền School, therefore, came into existence with some characteristics different from the previous two schools.]
Masters in these schools disseminated Buddhist teachings to the Vietnamese multitudes. During the Ly and Tran dynasties Thiền had a leading role in Vietnamese Buddhism. However, there were periods when Thiền lost its leading position to Confucianism, for example, at the end of the Tran Dynasty and the beginning of the Second Le Dynasty. During those times when Thiền was not favored by the royal and prestigious social classes, it mingled with the multitudes in the countryside.

After that decline came another period when Thiền regained its popularity among the royal circles. By the end of the Second Le Dynasty and during the Trinh-Nguyen Divisive War there were quite a few Thiền masters who came from China to disseminate the practice methods of their schools or subsects, such as Linji (Lam Te) or Caodong (Tao Dong).
Even when the Pureland practice was popular in Vietnamese Buddhism, for example in the 19th and twentieth centuries, in temples in Vietnam, altars to worship the partriarchs, who were Thiền masters, and their lineage continued to exist.

It is worth noticing that in Vietnam history when the nation was dominated by foreigners, Thiền usually mingled with the multitudes in the countryside, while the Pureland became more popular. When the nation regained independence, however, Thiền reestablished its dominating position in Vietnamese Buddhism.

2. Another special characteristic of Vietnamese Buddhism is that it has its own Thiền school, the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử (竹林安子). Its existence marked the incorporation of the three previous Thiền schools in Vietnam. It was founded by a famous king who later became an enlightened ascetic monk, King Trần Nhân Tông.

3. Vietnamese Buddhism, as it is influenced by the Trúc Lâm Yên Tử, focuses on the mind, liberation or enlightenment through meditation practice and wisdom, not on forms or rituals or academic studies.

4. It confirms that one may practice the Dharma and attain liberation and enlightenment even when one leads a busy life and as a lay person. Examples: King Trần Nhân Tông and some other Trần kings, Tuệ Trung Thượng Sĩ (慧中上士).

5. It incorporates all three religions (Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism) harmoniously.

6. It mingles with the multitudes while it was highly respected and favored by the ruling classes. King Trần Nhân Tông went out of his royal palace in order to disseminate the Dharma, and introduced Buddhist teachings to the rank and file. When he demised, he passed down the lineage transmission to Pháp Loa (法螺), 1284-1330), a disciple who was from the masses, and not in the upper classes.

Sources:
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thảo Đường
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tì-ni-đa-lưu-chi
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vô Ngôn Thông
Thich Thanh Tu. A Talk at the Vietnam's Popular Arts and Culture Association in Hanoi on April 6, 1996.
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trúc Lâm Yên Tử

An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation Methods --Part II

2b.Meditation Methods in the Mahayana (Developed) Buddhism Tradition:
These methods have been taught in China. Master Chih-k'ai [Zhiyi(Trí Di), also called Chih-k'ai (Trí Khải)],founder of the eclectic T'ien-t'ai [(Japanese: Tendai) Buddhist sect] taught thiền based on The Six Noble Practice Methods (Lục diệu pháp môn), which originally belonged to Theravada Buddhism, but which had been skillfully modified and became a Mahayana method.
The Six Noble Practice Methods
2b.1.Breath Counting: The practitioner breathes normally, and gently, while counting his/her breath from one to ten. By focusing on counting, the practitioner calms down the monkey mind naturally without much effort. His/her breath gradually becomes regular and gentle (refined), calming down arising thoughts step by step. If the practitioner does not want to focus on breath counting anymore, s/he may drop counting, and only focuses on breathing.
2b.2.Observing one’s breathing: After the practitioner stops counting breath, s/he focuses the mind on breathing in and out, so that the mind is no longer wandering with other thoughts and outside phenomena. When s/he realizes that the breathing itself is still too unrefined and disturbing the mind, s/he may stop focusing on breathing, and dwells on inside calmness only.
2b.3.Calming the mind: The practitioner’s mind remains calm —no more thought about breathing in and out, only inside tranquility. This is called “calmness.” The practitioner knows that inside his/her mind is calm, and that outside phenomena can no longer interfere this calmness. Although this calmness brings some joy and peace, the practitioner knows that it cannot help develop wisdom, and cannot help to liberate him/her from birth and death. Therefore, s/he continues to practice, and begins to use wisdom to observe.
2b.4.Observe phenomena: While dwelling in calmness, the practitioner observes his/her breath flowing in and out gently like a wind in an empty space; thirty six objects in the body as unreal, like a raft (or a babana trunk to help drowned people afloat and get ashore); the mind of transient illusory thoughts as impermanent; in every moment there is no subject (the “I”/the observer) and no object (the “other”/the observed). Once there is no perception of the “I”/the subject, where may concentration dwell on? Observing that way, the practitioner realizes the breath flow in and out in every hair on the body. His/her mind realizes that, the inside and the outside alike, the whole body is impure, impermanent in every moment. Even the observing mind is transient, unreal. Therefore, the practitioner abandons observing (xả quán), and starts practicing returing (hoàn).
2b.5.Looking back/reflecting: Because the practitioner realizes that the observing comes from the mind, and the analyzing phenomena also comes from the mind, and that both do not belong to the True Mind, s/he starts to reflect on the mind, trying to find out how it develops. This phase is called returing/reflecting (tu hoàn).
2b.6.Calmness/ tranquility: At that time, the mind is calm, not driven along with breathing, or reflecting. This phase is called calmness/tranquility (tịnh).

2b.7The Three Foci of Observation/Reflecting
Master Chih-k'ai (Trí Khải) also taught the method of Three Foci of Observing/Reflecting, namely, emptiness, unreal, and the middle.

(To be continued)

Sources:
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/3355-Gioi-thieu-duong-loi-tu-thien-cua-Phat-giao.html

An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation Methods

A.Introduction
Meditation is a fundamental practice in Buddhism. In ancient history the Buddha had sat in meditation for forty nine days under the Bodhi tree before he attained Enlightenment, and Buddhahood. We are monks and nuns, and Buddhist laypeople who learn Buddhist teachings. We must follow the path the Buddha had taken, and not any other path. Even if the non-Buddhist path is said to be sacred and mystical, we must never take it. We must distinguish the meditation method which was not taught by the Buddha from the method which He actually taught, so as to have a correct view, and to practice and obtain good results based on the Buddhist teachings we have been following respectfully.

B. Main Part
1. Non-Buddhist Meditation Methods (not in the Buddha's teachings)
1a. Chakra meditation: This method teaches the practitioner to control his/her flow of energy from the navel backward to the spine, up to the head, then down to the navel again, in a circle.
1b- Meditation method to “drive the soul out of the body”: The practitioner is guided to open the vital points on his/her body in order to drive the soul out of the body, and to fly to meet some invisible and unkown master to learn. After that the practitioner will practice on his/her own. This method has two harmful effects. First, it teaches how to open the vital points, which, if done wrongly, may cause insanity. Second, the unknown master may be evil, dangerous and dishonest.
1c.Abdomen meditation: The practitioner breathes in, holds the breath at the belly button for a long time, then breathes out. Gradually, his/her lower abdomen gets bigger, like a pregnant woman. That is why this method is also called pregnant-like breathing meditation method.
1d.Chi (Energy) control and transformation meditation: The practitioner is taught to transform his productive and vital energy into some form of miraculous power .
This method originates in mystical Taoism, and emphasizes supernatural power.
1e.Yoga: There are many methods which all aim at good health, not liberation from birth and death.
These five meditation methods are not Buddhist meditation.

2.Buddhist Meditation
The purpose of sitting meditation in Buddhism is to develop wisdom, to stop illusions (attachment to the self, and attachment to merit attainment), and to liberate oneself from suffering and Samsara. There are three types of Buddhist meditation: Theravada (Original) meditation, Mahayana (Developed Buddhist) meditation, and Thiền (Zen) schools.
2a.Theravada meditation: popular in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. There are many methods in Theravada meditation. Following are the most popular ones:
Four Realms of Mindfulness: The body is impure, like a bag of skin inside which there are stinky blood, flesh, fat, and body wastes. The Buddha taught us to observe the body as it actually is, so that we can put an end to our attachment to the body and the self, which is the source of birth, death, and samsara.
Our sensations and feelings are unstable, hence they are impermanent (sufferings in Buddhist view). Happy feelings, unhappy feelings, and neither-happy-nor-unhappy feelings are impermanent, and subject to change, too.
Humans usually get attached to their own bodies, and to their own feelings, thinking they are real, and valuable. Our eyes demand beauty, our ears like sweet sounds, our nose, fragrance. Our desires never end, they keep growing, and we never stop asking for more. Because we do not see the truth, we get drowned in our desires for impermanent likes and dislikes, and as a result, we suffer. The Buddha taught us how to see the truth that our sensation and feeling are impermanent, filled with sufferings, so we no longer chase after desires and temptation from the outside world. Only then can we get liberation from sufferings.
Our conscious minds are impermanent: good thoughts and bad thoughts keep arising in our minds continuously, and they are always unstable, and impermanent. Because we usually think our thoughts are stable, or remain valid all the times, if anyone thinks or acts differently, we feel upset and angry. Because of such thinking, there are arguments, fights, killing, and wars, causing a lot of sufferings. Therefore, the Buddha taught us to observe our minds, so as to realize them as unstable, and impermanent. Then we won’t get attached to them, but will be able to get free from the illusory thought that we are always right, while others are wrong.
The world of phenomena is void. There are two ways to observe the world of phenomena. Sorrow, love, anger, hatred --all these have no substance, unstable, now happy, now sad, now loving, now hating. Hence they make us miserable. The Buddha taught us to observe these as unstable, unreal, so we won’t be trapped in the attachment to our "self."
All objects around us, such as tables, chairs, houses, which many others consider real, but which, to those who have wisdom, are unreal, are subject to decay or destruction. For example, the body, which is made up of the four elements (earth, water, wind, and fire), will soon perish.
The Buddha taught us to observe all phenomena as they really are, so we no longer get attached to the self, and realize that it is wrong to consider the body,the mind, and the phenomena as real. Once we see things as unreal, we no longer have illusions, and attachment, nor run after illusory people and objects in the world.
Vipassana meditation: The practitioner uses his/her wisdom and observes every movement of the body, or every thought arising. For example, when breathing in, the practitioner knows that s/he is breathing in, and the chest or the abdomen is gradually rising. When breathing out, s/he knows that s/he is breathing out and the abdomen is deflating. Any thought arises, s/he knows that it arises. Such meditation method is called Insight meditation or Vipassana.

Those who practice meditation in the Theravada tradition, follow either the Four Realms of Mindfulness, or the Vipassana, or the Five Ways to Calm the Mind (Ngũ đình tâm). These are the common methods used by Theravada meditation practitioners.

(To be continued)

Source:
Most Venerable Thích Thanh Từ
http://www.daophatngaynay.com/vn/phap-mon/thien-dinh/to-su/3355-Gioi-thieu-duong-loi-tu-thien-cua-Phat-giao.html

My Purpose When I Established Chân Không Thiền Monastery -- Part IV

As for monks and nuns, “If you don’t understand the Fundamental Suchness, you simply waste your life.” Whose life is it? Do you know? You became monks and nuns in order to be liberated from birth and death, if you do not realize your True Mind, then all your spiritual practice is for nothing, and you just waste your life. What is your ultimate goal in life, if not to be liberated from birth and death? How pitiful! I feel very sorry for those monks and nuns who failed to realize their True Nature. How regretful!
The last four lines are the conclusion. The master warned two kinds of people: the first are those who are enjoying worldly pleasures, wealth, fame and prestige, and who should be awakened to realize that such pleasures are like a dream, or they are unreal, so why waste their whole lifetime chasing after them? The second are monks and nuns, those who denounced the world, but who failed to realize the True Emptiness/Void, hence wasting their lives and spiritual practice. The master’s advice is very sincere and caring.
As Buddhist practitioners, from lay people to monks and nuns, when we read these poetry lines, we must believe and try to be awakened from our illusions, and dualistic discriminations. However beautiful they may seem, they are unreal.
To conclude this talk about the words “chân không,” I would like to say that the name is just from the Sixth Patriarch’s “bản lai vô nhất vật”—the Fundamental Suchness that has nothing. It is the True Nature. I found this place, and I named it, so that when we look at the abbey, we are reminded of our ultimate purpose. We became monks and nuns to realize this True Mind, not just expecting any merits from our good deeds, nor mere wisdom. Good deeds and wisdom are initial, not the ultimate.
The establishment of Chân Không Thiền Monastery is the goal I had when I first built the abbey. From here there arose Thường Chiếu, then Trúc Lâm. Chân Không is the Nature/Fundamental; Thường Chiếu, Trúc Lâm are the Use or applications. Once there is the Fundamental, the Use can be realized. Without this, there would not be those. Therefore, the names I selected for the monasteries imply the conscious way we practice as I see it. I did not select names on an impulse; nor did I imitate others. I think the name of a monastery must imply what is necessary, the ultimate goal or purpose, for monks and nuns living there to cherish in their hearts and to follow. They need to practice so as to be liberated from birth and death. Other things are not important, such as praises or blames, etc. The most important thing is whether you have realized the True Mind, the True Emptiness/Void.
So, chân không is my goal right at the beginning. You have followed me along this path, and you need to remember this goal, never go off the track, never get lost. That is the true meaning for the life as monks and nuns, the Buddha’s followers who must be liberated from birth and death. That is the fundamental. Never go after any other thing, for they are not our goal.
Such are my explanations of the meaning of the words chân không. I hope all of you, monks, nuns, and laypeople know this and strive hard to achieve the goal we have, so that we deserve to be called the Buddha’s followers. That is also my expectation from you.


Sources:
http://www.thientongvietnam.net/kinhsach-thike/dirs/tmdoitoi/index.pdf

My Purpose When I Established Chân Không Thiền Monastery -- Part III

What is “bản lai vô nhất vật”, the Fundamental Suchness that has nothing? That is only another name for the True Emptiness/Void, which the Sixth Patriarch called “bản lai vô nhất vật”. He realized it, therefore he was liberated from birth and death. Now if we realize that we also have that Fundamental Suchness, we will be liberated from all fetters, and from life and death. I quoted the Sixth Patriarch’s gatha, so you may understand the meaning of “Chân Không.”
Furthermore, Master Chân Nguyên, a Vietnamese Thiền master at the beginning of the 18th century, wrote this gatha:
The Dharma Suchness is Void
Yet it takes cares of hundreds of chores for the multitude.
If we realize this Void, we then know
that the Suchness always resides on Linh Sơn Mountain.

Pháp tánh Như Lai vô nhất vật,
Ứng độ quần sanh hữu bách ban,
Nhược ngộ chân không hằng địch diện,
Như Lai thường trụ tại Linh San.
(Chinese)
Pháp tánh Như Lai không một vật,
Ứng độ quần sanh việc cả trăm,
Nếu ngộ chân không luôn đối mặt,
Như Lai thường trụ ở Linh Sa
(Vietnamese)

Master Chân Nguyên had realized the Way in Thiền (meditation practice) when he wrote Kiến Tánh Thành Phật (Realizing the True Nature to Become a Buddha), which I translated and had published already. He said the True Nature has nothing in it (Void), yet once realized, it could be applied in multiple forms and uses. “Ứng độ quần sanh hữu bách ban” (it takes cares of hundreds of chores for the multitude.) means that depending on the spiritual level of each subject,the Void will accordingly appear in the appropriate form. Thus, "Pháp tánh Như Lai không một vật" (The Dharma Suchness, which is Empty/Void”) is the True Nature, and "Ứng độ quần sanh việc cả trăm" (It takes cares of hundreds of chores for the multitude) is its applications. Once realized, the Suchness is always present. The historic Buddha was at Linh Sơn Mountain; where are our Buddhas? At Chân Không or Thường Chiếu ?
The Patriarchs have realized the True Nature. It is always there, never born nor dead. From the Sixth Patriarch to Master Chân Nguyên in Việt Nam, this was the same. For us, too, once realized, it is always with us. Never born nor dead. The Sixth Patriarch said, “bản lai vô nhất vật.” Master Chân Nguyên in Việt Nam also mentioned this. Both pointed to this True Nature directly, so that we may realize our Buddha, who is always with us.
I have mentioned the two partriarchs.
There was another Thiền master, Master Minh Chánh in the 19th century, i.e., one century after Master Chân Nguyên, under the Nguyễn dynasty. He belonged to the Tào Động School in Việt Nam. From Buddhist story about the last days of the Buddha (before He demised and entered PariNirvana), Master Minh Chánh learned that the Buddha had His final meal at Thuần Đà’s (Cunda’s) house. Thuần Đà was a blacksmith (hunter?), who, according to the Mahayana tradition, found some precious mushrooms (truffle) in the forest, and served them in the Buddha’s meal. The Buddha accepted and ate the meal which had the mushrooms, but forbade any monks to eat them, which surprised everybody. According to the Theravada tradition, Thuần Đà killed a warthog, and served its meat in the Buddha’s last meal. We do not know which version is true, but after the meal, the Buddha fell ill seriously (dysentery?). The monks were upset, and said the meal killed the Buddha.
[Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. (From Wikipedia)]

Master Minh Chánh created a poem after reading about the story of the Buddha’s last meal:
Well-done, Cunda! Well-done, Cunda!
Do not talk long. Do not talk short.
Long-short, good-bad, both are not right.
Trying to be skilful, you may be blamed as unskillful.
Trying to kill a sparrow, your sparrow may be eaten by a waiting fox
Fame and status are like early morning dew.
Wealth and prestige are but a long dream
If one does not realize one’s True Mind
One has worked hard in vain, and wasted one’s life.

Hay lắm Thuần Đà, hay lắm Thuần Đà !
Không nói ngắn, chẳng nói dài,
Ngắn dài, tốt xấu thảy đều sai.
Tìm hay lại hóa người chê vụng,
Bắn sẻ ai dè sói chực ngay.
Công danh cái thế màn sương sớm,
Phú quý kinh nhân giấc mộng dài.
Chẳng hiểu bản lai vô nhất vật,
Công lao uổng phí một đời ai !

This gatha was written in Nôm (Notes: Nôm is ancient Vietnamese, which has some similarities with Chinese scripts, but pronounced in Vietnamese. nttv). Why did he say “Hay lắm Thuần Đà, hay lắm Thuần Đà !”? (Well-done, Cunda! Well-done, Cunda!). It was because Cunda was the cause of arguments in the congregation. However, the arguments were not substantial. Therefore he complimented Cunda, then explained why the arguments were useless.
Do not talk long. Do not talk short.
Long-short, good-bad, both are not right. Thus, long vs. short are designations.
Long or short, both are relative. A ruler of one and a half meters on the floor by itself may be considered long. If we put another ruler of three meters long next to it, it becomes shorter. Similarly, a 3-meter ruler becomes short next to a 6-meter ruler. And so on and so forth. We see that nothing is stable. The same with good vs. bad, beautiful vs. ugly. When there is no vase of flowers around, even the vase with the simplest wild flowers looks good. But if we put another vase of flowers that are more beautiful next to it, the first becomes homely. Such discriminations are not valid or solid. They are not valid, but they may make us happy or upset, even angry. When you think this ruler is long, but another person says it is short, you are not pleased. In fact, both perceptions are not valid, but we keep holding on to them.
Therefore, Master Minh Chánh added, “Trying to be skilful, you may be blamed as unskillful./Trying to kill a sparrow, your sparrow may be eaten by a waiting fox.” We try to do good things, but our serious efforts sometimes backfire. Skillful deeds turn out to be unskillful ones. Anyhow, both skillful and unskillful are relative, impermanent, and not solid.

Trying to kill a sparrow, your sparrow may be eaten by a waiting fox
Fame and status are like early morning dew.

What we have gained may be stolen away from us, and what we think is good may turn out to be bad. Nothing can guarantee their validity and stability.
With the dichotomy of all worldly phenomena, there is nothing real. Such phenomena are unstable, impermanent and unreal. Therefore,

Fame and status are like early morning dew.

How pitiful! Fame is compared to morning dew; and wealth and prestige, to a long dream. We made great efforts to gain them, shocking others with our richness, but after some time wealth and prestige are gone, too. Master Minh Chánh warned humans about these illusions, and about their attachments to fame, wealth, and prestige or social status. All are a long dream or morning fog, which we should not chase after, for in the end they will disintegrate.

(To be continued)

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng
http://www.thientongvietnam.net/kinhsach-thike/dirs/tmdoitoi/index.pdf

My Purpose When I Established Chân Không Thiền Monastery -- Part II

When the Sixth Patriarch Huệ Năng (Huineng) came to the Fifth Patriarch Huệ Khả (Hongren) for Dharma learning, the latter told the resident monks in Huỳnh Mai (Huang Mei) Temple to compose and present their own gathas (short poems; stanzas) to show the merits they gained in their practice, so he could pass down the bowl and robe transmission to the next successor. Venerable Thần Tú (Shenxiu) then was the Dharma instructor of the sangha of 500 monks. Although Venerable Thần Tú (Shenxiu) was a respected monk of good talents and wide knowledge, he was not quite sure about his spiritual practice and merits. Because he was not quite sure about his gatha, he dared not directly submit it to the Fifth Patriarch, but only posted it on a wall in the Temple. Below is his gatha:

身是菩提樹，　The body is a Bodhi tree,
心如明鏡臺。　The mind a bright standing mirror.
時時勤拂拭，　At all times polish it diligently,
勿使惹塵埃。　And let no dust alight.
Thân thị Bồ-đề thọ,
Tâm như minh cảnh đài,
Thời thời cần phất thức,
Vật sử nhạ trần ai.
(Chinese)

Thân như cây Bồ-đề,
Tâm như đài gương sáng,
Luôn luôn phải lau chùi,
Chớ để dính bụi nhơ.
(Vietnamese)

It is a beautiful gatha. He compared the body to the Bodhi tree, and the mind, to the mirror which we need to polish diligently to make sure it has no dust. We ordinary people may find this gatha very close to us with regard to our spiritual practice. Our mind is not bright, for it is covered with worldly dust and illusory thoughts. Therefore, we need to polish it. That is why we find Shenxiu’s gatha very beautiful and meaningful.

But for Huineng, then a lay novice who worked in the temple kitchen at the rice mill, it was different. Upon listening to the gatha read by another novice, Huineng immediately created another gatha in response to Shenxiu’s:

菩提本無樹，　Bodhi is fundamentally no tree;
明鏡亦非臺。　The bright mind is also not a standing mirror.
本來無一物，　Fundamentally there is not a single thing —
何處惹塵埃。　Where could any dust be attracted?

Bồ-đề bổn vô thọ,
Minh cảnh diệc phi đài,
Bản lai vô nhất vật,
Hà xứ nhạ trần ai.
(Chinese)
Bồ-đề vốn không cây,
Gương sáng cũng chẳng đài,
Xưa nay không một vật,
Chỗ nào dính bụi nhơ.
(Vietnamese)

With this gatha Huineng brushed aside everything Shenxiu had presented. Shenxiu mentioned the Bodhi tree; Huineng confirmed that Bodhi was no tree. Our body is merely a form, so are the Bodhi tree and the mirror on a stand. If the mirror mind is bright, it shines naturally, and does not need polishing. Thus, the Sixth Patriarch did not mention forms. He simply pointed to the True Mind (True Emptiness/Void)directly. Through the two lines he pointed out that Bodhi is our enlightened True Nature, which is not in the tree or any form. The mirror represents our True Mind or Nature. Our clear Mind is not the stand. Thus our enlightened and pure True Mind has no form. Shenxiu still got stuck in forms.

The third line “bản lai vô nhất vật” (Fundamentally there is not a single thing) and the fourth “hà xứ nhạ trần ai” (Where could any dust be attracted?) mean that the Bodhi Mind has no form; therefore, it cannot be contaminated or covered with dust. The Bodhi True Mind is not an object. When we say our mind is contaminated, we mean the mind that is chasing after worldly phenomena. It is the illusory and impermanent mind. As for the True Mind, it never becomes contaminated. Every day we live with the impermanent mind, not with the True Mind. We take the illusory as the real, and perceive that our mind is not pure. Shenxiu wrote that our mind is dusty in that meaning. But if we realize our True mind, we will find it pure and permanent (never born nor dead). That is why the Sixth Patriarch said, “bản lai vô nhất vật, hà xứ nhạ trần ai.” (Fundamentally there is not a single thing/Where could any dust be attracted?)

The Sixth Patriarch realized the True Mind, while Shenxiu only saw the illusory mind and the necessity of diligent spiritual practice. That was why the Fifth Patriarch knew that Huineng got enlightened, and silently passed down the alms bowl and the robe to him. When we mention the Sixth Patriarch, we refer to a person who has realized the no-birth-and-death True Nature. The Sixth Patriarch once taught his disciples: “The Buddha taught all the Dharma methods only to help cure all the (sick) minds. I have no (sick) mind, therefore I need no Dharma method.” He meant because humans have sick or illusory minds, they need the Dharma methods. Now that his illusory mind had become purified and calm, his True Mind appeared, and he needed no Dharma methods. Only sick people need medicines, healthy ones do not. Dharma methods are medicines for those who are sick; otherwise, the medicinal methods are redundant.

(To be continued)
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huineng
http://www.thientongvietnam.net/kinhsach-thike/dirs/tmdoitoi/index.pdf