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ngày 29 tháng 4, 2009 |
LTS: Niềm tin vào một Thượng đế xa xăm càng ngày càng trở nên phi lý, không phải chỉ vì khoa học, mà còn do chính sự phát triển của lý trí, sự lớn mạnh của tự do ngôn luận, cùng một lúc với sự nghi ngờ về những giáo lý, và sự sụp đổ của đền đài tâm linh do lối sống sa đọa của các người "đại diện Chúa" bị phanh phui. Giữa lúc niềm tin Thiên Chúa Giáo Âu Châu đang bị phá sản như thế, giới trẻ rất cần biết về triết lý Á Đông, mà tiêu biểu là Phật Giáo, để điều hướng suy tư của con người trở về bản ngã nội tại và thực tiễn hơn. Những điều căn bản về nhân sinh quan của Á Đông nói chung, và đạo Phật nói riêng, đã làm điểm tựa thực tiễn và bền vững cho cuộc sống con nguời. Do tiếp xúc với một số bạn trẻ, chúng tôi khám phá ra nhu cầu này trở thành cấp thiết để giúp cho giới trẻ đang chơi vơi trong thế giới tinh thần. Nhiều bạn trẻ ở ngoại quốc, đọc tiếng Anh trôi chảy nhưng đọc tiếng Việt không mấy dễ dàng. Tài liệu nghiên cứu bằng ngoại ngữ về triết lý Phật giáo đã có nhiều, nhưng rất mênh mông. Bài viết ngắn gọn sau đây là một nhịp cầu sơ khởi, trước khi bạn trẻ muốn tìm hiểu rộng rãi thêm ở các tài liệu chuyên đề khác. Xin giới thiệu đến các bạn trẻ. (SH)
What is
Buddhism?
Buddhism is simply the
Teachings of the Buddha (The Enlightened One). The name Buddhism comes from the
word "Buddhi" which means "to wake up" and thus Buddhism is the teaching or
philosophy of awakening.
What did Buddha teach?
The Buddha taught many
things, contained in several hundred volumes which are classified in three
categories called "Three baskets" (Tipitaka): I. Vinaya Pitaka:
Basket of Discipline – Rules and Precepts of the Order; II. Sutra Pitaka:
Basket of Discourses – Dialogues between Buddha and disciples on his teaching;
and III. Abhidharma Pitaka: Basket of doctrinal elaborations –
Scholastic discussions of principles and special doctrines. There are many
profound teachings of the Buddha, but the most basic ones that every Buddhist
knows are: The Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path To
Self-Salvation, The Twelve Links of Interdependent Co-Arising, and the Theories
of Dependent Origination, Karma, Impermanence, and Reincarnation etc...
As for practice, this can be
summarized in the following four verses of Paragraph 183 from the Dhammapada
Sutra:
"Refrain from doing what is
evil;
Do all what is good,
wholesome;
Purify your mind;
That’s the teaching of all
the Buddhas."
What do Buddhists believe?
Buddhists’ beliefs are
through experience, that is knowledge by
acquaintance. In the Kalama Sutra, also known as the "Fundamentals
For Belief" in Buddhism, the Buddha advised
Buddhists not to take anything for granted:
-
Do not believe anything
just because it is a legend.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it belongs to a tradition.
-
Do not believe anything
just because many people talk about it.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it is written in the scriptures or books.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it is a metaphysical argument.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it agrees with your own ideas.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it is based on superficial data.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it agrees with your own prejudices.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it has the support of an authority or a power.
-
Do not believe anything
just because it is preached by missionaries or by your spiritual teachers.
When you hear anything, you
have to examine it, think about it, and experience it. When you know for
yourselves that certain things are wholesome and good, moral, beneficial to
yourself and to others, only after that you should believe in them, accept
them, and practice them.
In another occasion, the
Buddha went even further. He told the Bhikkhus (Buddhist Monks) that a disciple
should examine even the Buddha himself, so that the disciple might be fully
convinced of the true value of the teacher whom he followed.
When Buddhists worship the
Buddha, is it a form of idolatry?
No! The dictionary defines an
idol as "an image or statue worshipped as a god". Buddhists do not believe in a
god, or that the Buddha was a god, so the word "worship" is not quite
appropriate from the Buddhist point of view. "Paying homage" should be
the correct term. Furthermore, Buddha affirmed that the "Buddha Nature" is
inherent in all sentient beings. That means, anybody
can become a Buddha, the "Awakened One" or the "Enlightened One". A statue of
the Buddha with its hands rested gently in its laps and its compassionate smile
reminds us to strive to develop peace and love within ourselves. The perfume
incense reminds us of the pervading influence of virtue; the candle reminds us
of the light of knowledge; and the flowers which soon fade and die, reminds us
of impermanence, one of the basic teachings of the Buddha. When we bow or
prostrate before the image or statue of the Buddha, we express our gratitude to
the Buddha for what his teachings have given us, we bow to our own "Buddha
Nature", our own potential to become a Buddha.
If I want to learn more about
Buddhism, which books do you suggest?
There are many good books
about Buddhism. However, for a basic understanding of Buddhism, I would like to
recommend two excellent books to begin with: "Old Path, White Cloud" by
the Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, and "The Three Jewels" by the Ven.
Sangarakshita. These books are available at any good book store such as Barnes &
Noble or Borders.
What about the "49th-day-after-death"
ceremony?
Buddhists believe in the
theory of many lives, or rebirth, or reincarnation, now proved by scientific
evidence and many authentic cases around the world. The teaching of "Karmic
Bardo", an intermediate state of 49 days’ duration between death and rebirth, is
peculiar to "Esoteric Buddhism" or "Tibetan Buddhism". This teaching is
described in detail in Sogyal Rinpoche’s "The Tibetan Book of Living and
Dying" or in the classic book of W.Y.Evans-Wentz "The Tibetan Book of the
Dead".
Very briefly, according to
this teaching, at death, our "karmic energy" or "consciousness-spirit", that is
the sum of all our actions generated from our body, speech, and mind, from this
life and from previous lives, in form of energy, leaves the body, usually within
three days after death, and travels through space in a state of "Karmic Bardo"
or "Bardo of Becoming". The whole "Karmic Bardo" has an average duration of 49
days, and a minimum length of one week. Most ordinary beings do not stay in this
bardo longer than four weeks. As this Karmic Energy is no longer limited and
obstructed by the physical body of this world, the "possibilities" are infinite
for "becoming" reborn in different realms. If one is to be reborn in the realm
of human beings, the "consciousness-spirit" will be attracted to and picked up
by an appropriate fertilized egg, or if one has good enough karma, one is
liberated from the cycles of birth-and-death, and goes directly to the Western
Paradise of Utmost Joy, a Realm called Pure Land of Eternal Bliss.
What we can do to help the
dead person is called "transference of consciousness". For 49 days after the
person’s death, every day or at least every week, we should perform some rituals
in which we simply direct our good thoughts toward him/her, and recite some
Sutra and Dharani such as the Heart Sutra, the Dharani of the Most Compassionate
One, the Rebirth-in-Pure-Land Dharani etc.. which is
believed to have the power to purify each of the negative emotions that are the
cause of rebirth, and uproot all karmic hindrances so the dead person’s
consciousness-spirit can find its way to the realm of Western Paradise of Utmost
Joy, thus liberated from the cycles of birth-and-death. When we do this, we also
extend the embrace of our compassion to include other dead people in our
prayers. These rituals are to be performed daily or weekly for seven weeks,
usually in a Buddhist Temple, or at home.
The seventh week is
considered a critical juncture, as 49 days is taught to be generally the longest
stay in the bardo. Usually, immediate relatives and close friends are invited to
attend this grand ceremony to pray together and to dedicate all the merit and
well-being that spring from any such acts of kindness and generosity to the dead
person, and in fact to all those who have died, so that everyone who has died
may find his/her way to the realm of Eternal Bliss.
See also: God in Buddhism (Khmand)