THE ART OF LIVING
At first glance, the title might sound kinda broad, sublime and even so fancy. Yeah, it is! How could we fully refer to such a thoughtful topic just in a few pages? Even it might take one book to write about a way of life. So, I’m gonna stay in the Buddhist viewpoint to talk about the Boddhisatva’s lifestyle under the term “Four Dharma for Mind Subduing”. Many revered monastics did develop this theme. Repeating it might be redundant and wasteful. I’m gonna briefly skim over what we’ve known but hit only on the essentials. There would be no diving into the common, doctrinal, academic or overly formal significance. I simply wish to share some Zen insight, distill some Dharma essence and offer some practical applications for us.
The scriptures describe it’s the way Bodhisattvas interacting in life in order to vanquish human mind and other sentient beings. Upon reflection, it’s also a good approach for mind training. We can apply it in day-to-day life aiming at balance and rapport within family and social life. So, today let’s talk about the “Four Dharma of Mind Vanquishment”, a perfect and wonderful path leading to suffering release, awakening and self-liberation.
With every lecture about “worldly mind”, we’ve realized the root cause of conflicts and sufferings for ourselves and others is the very “self” or ego that brings along subjectivity. In the common and practical sense, it’s kinda distort, bias, craziness, selfishness, craving and fury; consequently, pain, conflicts and struggles brought forth. With awakening, we realize the “self” isn’t real, stable and existent. It’s merely a phenomenon among worldly phenomena. It results from the cause-aligned preconditions; thus, it is ephemeral, fading and disappearing before turning into something else, the “non-self”. Yet, due to the so-called “self”, there’s a temporary “non-self”. Once there’s absolutely no “self”, it’s unnecessary to refer to the “non-self”. That’s where we touch the point of “Atakkāvacara”, beyond words and concepts.
Now, back to the theme. The first subduing dharma is “Donating or Generosity” which precedes the “mindfulness” mentioned in the Sutra of Horse Village. Or it can replace the “thought of sensual desires” by the “thought of giving up cravings” in the Sutra of “Dual Mind Directions”. Both of the sutras teach newly-ordained monk’s primary steps to purify their mind without unwholesome thinking risen. In the Four Overcoming Dharma, practitioners must give something suitable to others’ needs and in accordance with their capacity. Here, what offered focus on wholesome thoughts to truly help others in reality. Such distributions or giving, equal and universal, reflect the donors’ mind of fairness, sapience, and empathy. We’ve widely opened the mind door to welcome all life winds or challenges. Please note the emphasis on the word “mind door”, not the “door of our mind”. At this milestone, nothing is “mine or ours”. Y’all, with that, “generosity” is a broad route steering to the ocean of Happiness, isn’t it?
Yet, it recommends to thoroughly comprehend “Giving is an art” for it to truly be the Zen path.
With common understanding, donating is solely kinda charity which can yield good fruits but just limited among conditional phenomena. Generally, when an action taken under a certain mind status, that action deeply reflects the quality of that mind. For instance, we donate some amount of money to a charity; with the worldly mind, we want to get the receipts for tax exempts, clarity in finance accounts or our names announced in the public…Then, sometimes what we’ve expected might not yet come, we get irritated, suspicious and unwholesome karmas might generate from our thinking and speech. So, donors need be sagacious to boost Giving up to an art of mind training. Giving isn’t an art unless it manifests “les grands cœurs”, the noble mind that can be shown in compassion, empathy, joice and equanimity. We’ve clearly known all those four mental manifests. But what are their groundworks? It’s the very Non-Discriminative Wisdom or the Wisdom of Equality or the Non-Self. Yeah! Simply with the first subduing dharma, “Generosity”, we are being directed to liberation, and liberated from the “prison of Self and Cravings”.
“What need to be done is done.” Necessary to talk about the second, third and last overcoming dharma? Yeah! To get all of them.
The second one is the Kind Speech. When Taking the Refuge and Accepting the Five Precepts, we’ve known the fourth commandment is to restrain from lying and false speech. With detailed analysis, we find more things we shouldn’t say and more things we should. For instance, we must:
- “Tell the truth”. However, some truths can bring wretchedness to others. Then, we’d better keep quiet.
- “Speak at the right time.”
- “Talk only to the right person or those really in need it.”
- “Talk beneficial things.” Avoid joke, idle chatter, gossip.
- “Use kind, nice, courteous and sincere words.
The Buddha once taught the monastics, when gathering, just talk about one topic only, how to end sufferings?
Anything else is useless and breaks the precepts. About all other matters in life, be quiet. That’s the Holy Silence.
“Monks, never talk about the stories of various types of animals, royalties, stealers, high-ranked mandarins, soldiers, terrors, wars, foods and beverages, clothes, beds, wreaths and spices, relatives, carriers, hamlets and villages, towns and cities, countries and homeland, women and men, heroes, random chatters on the streets or at a well, dead people, gossips, changes in the world and oceans, existence or non-existence. Why? Those conversations are not the goals and cornerstones for virtuous merits neither the supports for the sickness of desires, leaving them, ceasing them, wisdom, enlightened and Nirvana. If talking, monks, discuss “This is suffering. This is the Path to end sufferings.”
(Saṃyutta Nikāya V, Chapter of Concentration, p. 609)
Those are the moral rules for the Bhikkhus. If we strongly determine to stay in the path of mind culture like monastics, we should train our mind closely and seriously like them.
The third conquering dharma is “Useful Actions”, referring to a completely helpful lifestyle for ourselves and others. Depending on our understanding how useful is and in what area is beneficial that we can set ourselves to the best alignments. This dharma also requires objective insights and delicacy to benefit both parties.
The last one is Multi-Collaborations. Simply like a member of a community, we work together and act in harmony with others. It also means there should be no social gap among us and others around. No isolating ourselves in our own “ivory towers”. When someone separates himself from daily life, stops all social communication in a joyless and close-mindedness, he might reveal his “Humble Self” or his “Ego of Pride”. They’re the two sides of the “Ego”, the complexes of inferiority and superiority, or the sense of being lowest or loftiest among others.
A life of isolation is not ideal for anyone on the path to awakening, whether following the Arhat or Bodhisattva path. In the old days, the Buddha himself and the ancient Enlightened all began their spiritual paths by renouncing worldly life and cloistering themselves in snowy mountains or wild jungles for mind cultivation until reaching the full awareness. Then, they re-entered ordinary life to interact with every level in society and wait for the favorable conditions to preach the Dharma and offer versatile helps. This noble tradition has been well-preserved and still alive to this day.
We need clearly understand those phases. In the early stage of mind training, it’s necessary to renounce family attachments and terminate desire clinging. That’s said by the First Patriarch Bodhidharma when teaching the Second Patriarch Hui-K’o:
“Externally, block all preconditions,
Internally, stop wrong thinking,
Until mind solid like walls
Able to enter the Path.”
But when the Lords attained the utmost wisdom, they all came back to the world to assist humans in their mind cultivation and offer benefits to other sentient beings. That’s the great meanings of “Useful Actions” and “Multi-Cooperations”
This is the lifestyle of the Bodhisattva, who possess hard-stoned vows and aspiration, sky-reaching determination, have attained the Wisdom and full virtuous merits like the Enlightened. The Art of Living is the harmony in life but not being soaked and fluctuated in the mundanity flow. This art can be wholly covered in the four areas: giving, kind speech, useful actions and multi-cooperations. Through the Buddhist lens, I’m so glad to introduce one more noble, helpful lifestyle for yourselves and life.
Bhikkhuni Thích Nữ Triệt Như
Written at the Sunyata Monastery, Aug 08, 2021
English version by Ngọc Huyền
Link to Vietnamese article: https://tanhkhong.org/a2603/triet-nhu-snhp022-nghe-thuat-song
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