VOWING ONESELF TO LEARN 84K DHARMA
Article 3
MAY EVERYTHING GO AS ONE WISHES
Spring comes, spring goes, spring returns again. Everyone wishes each other the best wishes at the beginning of the year, in which " May Everything Go As You Wish" is mentioned the most, although maybe up to 90% of the wishers and the wished people know how they can get along well with all things happen. Those who are imbued with Buddhism tend to change the above wish to "May Everything Go Is Calmly Welcome " so that they can feel easy and peaceful. Those who are not lucky enough to study Buddhism will find the second wish strange and unacceptable.
The following piece of writing does not discuss both wishes in depth, but it refers to one of the principles that operates the " Everything", every worldly phenomenon. It is the "blessings" in the sense of the Secular Truth, the fundamentals of all conditional phenomena in human life.
About 520 BC, when Partriarch Bodhidharma came to China from India and met King Liang Wudi in Nanjing, there was an interesting dialogue that is still popular in the history of Buddhist meditation as follows:
- King Liang Wudi: I have been building temples, supporting monks, circulating the sutras, and hosting the open altars for almsgivings to congregational sanghas. So, is there any merit?
- Partriarch Bodhidharma : Not at all.
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- King Liang Wudi: Who is sitting in front of me?
- Partriarch Bodhidharma : I don't know. ...............................................................................................................................................
King Liang Wudi was possibly very disappointed. He had assumed that the Partriarch would generously praise for his merits. However, the Partriarch also displeased with the king. The history records show immediately after that, he left the capital, crossed the Yangtze River, headed north, arrived at Luoyang, went up the Wutai Mountain, entered the Shaolin Temple, and faced the wall for nine-year retreat. From then, whenever talking about him, the Father of Chinese Zen Buddhism, people often remember the expression “nine years of wall-facing meditation. ”
When using the word "merits", King Liang Wudi wanted to know if he could be blessed by his good deeds and expected the praises from the Partriarch. But the word "merits" used by the Partriarch refers to the steady efforts in meditation or mind practice aiming at “sick of desires, leaving them, ceasing them and enlightened." It is the diligent practice of the Tathagata’s Holy Teachings to terminate cravings, anger, and ignorance in order to self-release from the reincarnation. The above story showed that the King stayed in the Worldly Truth whereas the Partriarch the PrajnaTruth and the Emptiness.
Many of us still confuse the two words "contribution merits" and "mind-practice merits". However, in the scope of conditioned phenomena, the latter might be understood as good deeds to maintain and develop Buddhism. For example, we often hear the sentence "Thank you for your merits (dedications) to the temple."
WHAT ARE BLESSINGS OR DEDICATION MERITS?
"Dedication merits", also known as "blessings", are the results of good deeds done in this life and other previous ones. Blessings are in the material scopes with physical qualities. It is easy to recognize them through money, fame, beauty, wealth, power, knowledge, diplomas, etc. Those who have a lot of luck, happy marriage, beautiful houses, filial and successful children are often considered to have been greatly blessed. Perhaps 99% of humans love merits. No one does not like longevity, good health, wealth, high social status, elegance, luxuries, beauty, being respected and honored. Nowadays, when you are fortunate enough to get the Dharma, the friends of virtue within the favorable environment to nurture your peaceful mind amidst of daily turmoil, you have earned lots of merits while the others do not.
Good-deed blessings result from the operation of the laws of causes and effects. They are worldly phenomena, affected by many conditions. Hereafter, they can change, increase and decrease, exist and disappear, come and go according to the laws of impermanence.
HOW ARE WE INFLUENCED BY BLESSINGS OR DEDICATION MERITS?
It is clearly said that merits from virtuousness have deep and strong impacts on human life, spiritual and physical. Look at the democratic, well- developed, well-civilized countries. People over there lead a life of peace, freedom, equality and well-being. They are respected and protected by their laws. They all have brilliant faces. Look at the Africa where the people are not good-looking and live a very harsh life. The African always lack of food. They do not have clean water for daily uses. A great number of children are unable to go to school. Their infrastructure are pretty underdeveloped. Transportation is not convenient. Health conditions are too poor. That is why the Africa is considered the cradle of the virus and bacteria that cause plagues and contagious diseases to the whole world. They are heavily superstitious and have almost no opportunity to know Buddhism even though some Vietnamese Buddhist monks, who overcame challenges and difficulties, have built up some temples. However, majority of the African haughty leaders graduated from well-known universities in the world like Sorbonne, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale or Harvard. They live in magnificent and luxurious mansions with many slaved servants. They enjoy the food of the best quality in the world. Their cars are Cadillac, Rolls-Royce. Again, personal karmas are always among collective ones.
Blessings are also the solid platform to launch mind culture and get rid of sufferings. It is difficult to have full intention and energy towards spiritual life when we encounter hunger, diseases, mental terror or a life of frequently meeting both ends or even when we live in unsecure environment because of wars, pollution and crimes. We are living in the America, Australia or Europe; it means we are greatly blessed. The Zen history notes that, in the Buddha’s Sangha of 1250 monks of the old days, there was a monk who went for alms begging every day like the others, but he was always hungry. Whenever the given food was almost to reach his mouth, there were always unexpected incidents making him unable to get it completely. Then, before his death, the Lord himself had to spoon food into his mouth so that he could get the first but last full meal in his life.
HOW TO BUILD UP BLESSINGS OR DEDICATION MERITS?
Blessings are usually the fruits resulted from giving. In other words, they are from the offering, donating, dedicating or almsgiving of money, materials or properties to help other people in need or emergencies. They are also from the contribution of mind and heart, time, energy, and hard work to better the environments or situations of a community or a country. Since 1997, Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates with the funds of BMGF (some tens of billions of US dollars) have changed the Africa and the life of the Africans, young and old. The Buddha called it “monetary offerings.” Building or restoring temples, shrines, churches, publishing and circulating sutras, supporting all religious activities at monasteries, congregations, assisting the improvement of the religions so everyone can live in peace and wellness, the Buddha said it is Dharma dedications.
Offering also means donating or contributing. So, can you only be blessed when you have money? And those who have limited budget are unable to achieve merits? Absolutely no. There are various ways to build up blessings for you yourselves and your families without spending a penny. But with it you may be substantially paid off.
Firstly, take the Five Precepts seriously. As you know, they are not to take life of any beings, sentient or non-sentient; it means humans, animals or plants. The next are not to steal, not to commit improper sex, not to commit to wrong and cruel speech that may break harmony and solidarity. The last is not to involve in intoxicant substances or addictive social media programs. When you take the first two Buddhist commandments, you will surely be much blessed. Respecting the other beings’ life, you are seldom sick but healthy, get long lifespan and good physical appearance. It means there is no problem for your physical body. Without cheating or stealing, your properties and possessions can sustain long in good conditions.
Then, always live in the active Eightfold Path, especially the Right View and Knowledge, the Right Speech, the Right Actions and the Right Livelihood. The Five Precepts and the Eightfold Path share the reciprocal supports to help humans easy to live in the Right Mindfulness and not to commit evils today and tomorrow.
Secondly, daily self-repentance and self-review of the mistakes in the previous time to avoid repeating them today will help to transfer bad karmas of the past and develop personal merits of this current life.
A loving look, a sympathetic smile, some words of comfort to share with the less fortunate, some kind words to pacify someone in panic, some good wishes for the homeless, helping an elderly person or a young kid to cross the road safely. All of them generate merits. On the way of walking, if you see some obstacles such as a brick, a tree branch, a piece of sharp iron, you immediately remove them so that a weaker person could go securely, you, then, are blessed. All of the above, when done with heartfelt joy, good-deed merits will surely result. In your daily work, no matter what it is, if you do it with all our heart and ability to improve the quality and assist people much more, it will naturally bring many blessings.
There are also two ways to lose blessing very quickly. It is to waste water and to throw food in the trash. How come? Water and food are the products bestowed from heaven and earth. But without human labor, we do not have them enough to use. Wasting them both indicates you are not grateful for all kinds of beings. Save water. Millions of Africans have to travel long way of kilometers to get some buckets of fresh water every day. Buy only enough food. Get and receive only enough beverages. Millions of children the world over are hungry and do not have clean water to drink every day.
Blessings are the rewards of the wholesome karmas accumulated in one’s previous lives and in this lifetime. It is also an earthly phenomenon affected by different influences. Positive and negative karmas are compared to the roads of two directions, forward and backward. What leaves the starting point will return to that original location in the same manner. What has been given will reverse back to its primary source one day. The American adage clearly symbolizes that path: "What goes around will come around."
A RIGHT VIEW FOR CONCLUSION
In the Six Paths of Paramita, Dana Paramita is at the top. Thus, it is essential to get a correct view of the blessings so that life is agreeable, and mind training is easy and fruitful.
If you stay with virtuousness for your whole life but All Things Do Not Sound Satisfactory to you, be patient and do not hurriedly blame the heavens and earth. Remember the Buddha’s words “ Paramita Tolerance.” You are changing your own negative karmas. You are doing good deeds for yourselves. Everything takes time but cannot be rushed to operate. The seeds sown to day will bear fruits.
What if your merits are too poor and you have suffered many bitter failures and drawbacks in life whereas the others enjoy their sweet happiness, satisfying successes and money in abundance? Try to keep calm so your mind cannot be undulant by the waves of hatred and jeaslousy. Nothing could happen without any cause or precondition. Be tolerant when you want to transfer your karmas. Be honest in self-review and bravely accept the unpleasant truths. You yourselves are the owners of your own life. And only you can change yourselves and “when there is a will, there is a way” as well.
If you are substantially blessed, do not be promptly arrogant. On the other hand, be sincerely modest. Know “Sufficient” in order not to be obsessed by All Things Should Come Satisfactorily As You Expect. Never forget “Every conditional phenomenon is as fragile as bubbles and as ephemeral as dreams.” When doing some good deed for someone, the sooner you could forget it, the better you would be. At the very least, should remember the saying “not to expect any payoff from good actions.” Instead, “ let the phenomena operate by themselves” in accordance with the laws of causes and effects. Do wholesome deeds in the embracement of Paramita Dana. Only good things and focus on eroding the Self and renouncing Avarice.
Last but not least, when accumulating blessings but lacking the wisdom nurture, the trio of Listening-Thinking-Mind Culture and the Buddhist meditation, you will be for long whirled up and down in the rebirth cycle.
Remember with the simultaneous cultivation of Merit-Wisdom
You are able to get out of reincarnation.
When you intend to help someone,
Just because of the worldly blessings,
Your consciousness of rebirth gets stronger and stronger.
At the near-dead, you just want to be reborn,
To enjoy the merit you have built up.
Hey, poor man!
With that,
When could you Reach The Old Home?
Warmly good-bye and wish you a day and night in peace.
English version by Ngọc Huyền
Seclusion of NonSpeech
February, 2025
Link to Vietnamese article: http://tanhkhong.org/a4672/dd0807-ngoc-huyen-tam-van-phap-mon-the-nguyen-hoc-bai-3-van-su-nhu-y
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