Monday, November 30, 2015

真の敵

次のティク・ナット・ハンのビデオを、1:36:561:46:10迄ご覧ください。


引用:
私は1965年6月1日マーティン・ルーサー・キングに手紙を書きました。シカゴの記者会見で彼に会って、ちょうど1年経過後でした。私はマーティン・ルーサー・キングに書いた手紙の中で、人間は私たちの敵ではないと述べました。人間は誰も、私たちの敵ではありません。私たちの敵は、私たちの憎しみ、暴力、恐れ、差別、無知です。それが真の敵です。私たちの敵は人間ではないのです。

私たちがキリスト教指導者、市民権運動の指導者との対話に出席するのは初めてでした。そして、私たちはお互いに敵ではないことに、相互に合意しなければなりませんでした。殺し、殺されるためにベトナムにやって来たアメリカ兵がいました。しかし、彼らは真に敵ではありませんでした。真の敵は誤解、誤った知覚、憎しみ、恐れ、怒りでした。

人を助けるためには、あなたはその人の内面からこれらの要素を取り除くのを助ける必要があります。そして、ベトナムの平和運動において、私たちは洞察を持っていると私は述べました。共産主義者と反共産主義者の双方共、お互いに殺しあうのなら、異なる幸福についての考え、将来についての考えを持っていたということです。そして、兄弟による兄弟殺しを主導したのは、これらの考えであり信念です。

そして、市民権運動においても、私たちは他の人間と闘っているのではないというような洞察があるに違いない、或いはあり得るのではないかと、私は手紙の中で彼に告げました。私たちは、差別、不公平、恐れといった、人間の中の否定的要素とのみ闘い、戦います。そして、生きたまま自身を燃やす僧侶がいたなら、それは真に暴力ではないと私は彼に告げました。なぜなら、私たちは戦争状態に巻き込まれていたのであり、そのような状況では人々の声が国の外からだけでなく、国の内部からですら聞いてもらうことがままならなかったのです。

ですから、紛争当事者に属する新聞、ラジオ、テレビは、私たちの希望、私たちの洞察について話すことはありません。ですから、私たちは戦争をしたくないし、したくなかったということを外部世界に知ってもらうために、メッセージが理解されるように、私たちは自身を燃やす必要があるのです。そして、そのように自身を燃やすことは、思いやりの行為であって、絶望や暴力行為ではありません。イエスが神の息子、人間の息子として、自分が十字架にかけられることを受け容れた時、彼は分かっていましたが、それを受け容れました。それは。絶望の行為ではなく、愛の行為です。

私たちはマーティン・ルーサー・キングの実践者共同体と一緒に動くことを意図していましたので、2つの共同体の間の交わりのようなもの協働する2つの実践者共同体がなければなりません。ですから、私たちはシカゴで会ったのです。そして、本当の敵といった類のことについて会談している間に、人間は私たちの敵ではないことで一致しました。そして、私たちは憎しみや怒りに基づいて行動すべきではなく、思いやりに基づいて行動すべきだと。その後、私たちはベトナム戦争に反対してきました。

そして、彼の運動の中の人々ですら恐れていましたが、彼は非常に勇敢でした。彼は真実を理解していました。彼は人間は私たちの敵ではないという洞察を得ていました。ですから、戦争(が悪いのです)。ベトナムのアメリカ兵は、仏教の僧侶は変装したゲリラかもしれないので、仏教の僧侶を信用してはならないと、彼らがベトナムへ来る前に言われていました。ですから、私たち(僧侶)の多くが疑われて殺されたのです。私たちは、それが行為の基盤である無知、誤った知覚であることを知っています。思いやりが維持されるように、その洞察を生きたままにしておくためには、私たちは実践する必要があります。そうしないと、怒り、恐れ、欲求不満に流されてしまいます。

そこで、私たちは、ベトナム戦争を終わらせるキャンペーンをしました。米国には、ニューヨークに和解のための団体がありました。その和解団体はベトナムへ人を送り、私たちと連絡をとりました。そして、私たちは彼らと協働しました。私たちは「殺害をやめて!」と呼ばれるキャンペーンを始めました。「人間は私たちの敵ではない」という土台に私たちは立っていました。私たちの敵は誤解、疑い、等等です。

もし、ティク・ナット・ハンとマーティン・ルーサー・キングが手を取りあって、一緒に歩けば、皆さんは仏陀とイエスが一緒に歩いているのを見ることができます。そして、私は「家へ帰る」という題の本を書きました。イエスと仏陀は兄弟です。ですから、あなたの実践は、その線に沿う必要があります。なぜなら、その洞察はあなたに平和、洞察、幸せをもたらすことができ、あなたはどこへ行くべきかが分かるからです。あなたがその洞察を得たなら、もはや混乱はありません。すると、非差別が現実のものとなり、ただの口先だけではなくなります。
:引用おわり

(解説)
ティク・ナット・ハンのこの教えは、今世紀の世界平和のためにまだ非常に役立ちます。特に、オランド大統領とイスラム国指導者は、非常に注意して深くこの教えに耳を傾ける必要があります。

(参考)http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00KZJ34KO

ティク・ナット・ハンとキング牧師

Sunday, November 29, 2015

True enemy

Watch the following Thay's video from 1:36:56 to 1:46:10.


Quote:
I wrote to Martin Luther King a letter on June 1, 1965. And exactly one year after that I met him in Chicago in a press conference. In the letter I wrote to Martin Luther King, I said that man is not our enemy. No human being is our enemy. Our enemy is our hate, violence, fear, discrimination, ignorance. That's true enemy. Our enemy is not man. 

There was the first time we attend the dialogue with the Christian leader, the leader of the civil right movement. And we had to agree with each other that we are not enemies to each others. There were American soldiers who came to Vietnam to kill and to be killed. They were not truly enemies. The true enemies were the misunderstanding, the wrong perceptions, hate, fear, anger. 

In order to help a man, you have to help him or her to remove these elements from within. And I said that in the peace movement in Vietnam, we have that insight. Both communists and anti-communists, if they kill each other, because they had ideas about happiness, about the future that were different. And it is these ideas, these convictions that had led them killing brothers by brothers. 

And I told him in the letter that in the civil right movement, there must be, or there may be that kind of insight that we are not struggling against other human beings. We struggle, we fight only the negative elements in men, which is the discrimination, injustice and fear. And I told him that if there are monks who burn themselves alive, that's not truly violence. Because we were caught in a war situation, where the voice of people can not be heard even from the inside, not only from the outside of the country. 

So, the press, radio, television belonging to the warring parties, they don't speak our hope, our insight. So, in order for the world outside to know that we do not, we did not want the war, we have to burn ourselves so that the message can get across. And burning ourselves like that is the act of compassion, not the act of despair or violence. And when Jesus allowed himself to be crucified as the son of God, the son of man, he knew but he accepted that. And that is not the act of despair but of love. 

So, there must be that kind of the communion between two communities, two sangha to collaborate. Because we intended to work together with his sangha, Martin Luther King's sangha. So, one, exactly one (editor?) we met in Chicago. And during the meeting of talk about these kinds of things, the real enemy, the man is not our enemy. And we should not operate on the basis of hate, anger but on compassion. And after that, we came out against the war in Vietnam. 

And even people in his movement were afraid of that. He didn't ??? of that but he was very courageous. He had seen the truth. He got the insight that man is not our enemy. So, the war. American soldiers in Vietnam had been told before they come that Buddhist monks may be guerillas in disguise and they should not trust Buddhist monks. That is why many of us were killed out of suspicions and ???. And we know that it is ignorance, wrong perceptions under foundations of act. And in order to keep that insight alive so that compassion be maintained, we have to practice. Otherwise, you will be carried away by anger, fear and frustration. 

So, we had a campaign to end the war in Vietnam. In the United States, there was a fellowship of reconciliation that was held at ??? , New York. And they sent people to Vietnam and contacted us. And we collaborated with them. And we started a campaign called the "Stop the killing!". And we stood on the ground that man is not our enemy. Our enemy is the misunderstanding, suspicion and so on. 

So, if Thich Nhat Hanh and Martin Luther King hold hands and walk together, you can see that Buddha and Jesus are walking together. And I have written a book with a title, "Coming home". Jesus and Buddha are brothers. So, your practice should be on that line. Because the insight can bring you peace, insight, happiness, and you know where to go. And there is no more confusion if you have got the insight. And non-discrimination becomes something real, not just a talking.
:Unquote

(My commentary) 
This Thay's teaching is still very useful for the world peace in this century. Especially President Hollande and Islamic State leaders must listen to it very carefully and deeply. 

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LA87R7A
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/4-categories-of-humans.html


Thich Nhat Hanh & Martin Luther King Jr.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

無常

次のティク・ナット・ハンのビデオを、46:1057:00迄ご覧ください。


引用:
種子は、種子以外の要素からのみできています。苦しみも同様です。幸せも同様です。仏陀も同様です。雲も同様です。全ての物が同様なのです。全ての物は複合物です。そして、複合物を名付けるために、「形成物」という言葉があります。中国語では「行」。全ての複合物、全ての形成物は無常です。「諸行無常(全ての形成物は無常である)」という、仏教文献における有名な声明があります。物は無常ですので、絶対的な独自性を保持しません。物は常時変化しています。誰も同じ川で二度泳ぐことはできません。たとえ、私たちが同一人物であっても、川は同じ川ではありません。そして、多くの賢人がそのことを理解しました。仏陀だけではなく、全ての賢人がこの無常の現実を理解してきました。

十六念息の最後の4実習は、私たちが自由になるのを助けてくれる4種類の集中に関するものであることを、あなたはご存知です。13番目実習)は、無常の瞑想です。これは一つの集中です。そして、仏教の全宗派において、「無常」は集中(サマディー)の実践の一つです。私たちは皆、無常についての考えを持っています。私たちは物事は無常であることを知っています。私たちは無常の真理を受け容れています。しかしながら、私たちには、無常の集中がありません。無常とは何かを完全に知っている人は誰もが無常の真理を受け容れます。しかし、私たちはまだ、あたかも物事が永遠であるかの如く振る舞っています。

あなたに無常の集中があるなら、あなたがパートナーを見る時、パートナーも自分も無常であると気付きます。あなたができることは、今日、相手を幸せにすることであり、あなたはそれを実践します。なぜなら、明日では遅すぎるかもしれないからです。しかし、私たちの多くは、あたかも相手があと千年はそこに居るかの如く、振る舞います。そして、もし何かが起こり、相手がもはやそこに居なくなると、私たちは泣くのです。それは、私たちが無常の洞察を持っていないからです。私たちは無常の概念を持っているだけです。ですから、優れた実践者は、法話から得た概念に満足していません。その洞察を生きたものとして維持するために、マインドフルネスと集中を実践します。その洞察がその人の中で生きているなら、その人は完璧に振る舞います。そしてその人は、将来後悔することはないでしょう。

もし、あなたの最愛の人が無常であり、あなたもまた無常であるということを、あなたが分かっているなら、相手に怒り、相手を苦しめはしないでしょう。仮に誰かがその人の最愛の人に怒っているとしましょう。その人に勧める実践は、目を閉じて今から300年後の最愛の人を視覚化することです。すると、無常の現実に触れ、相手に怒るのは全く知性的でないことを理解するのに、2~3秒しか要しません。すると、あなたは一緒にいる時間を大切にします。あなたが目を開けると、あなたの宝物は目の前に居て、あなたは何かきついことを言って相手に罰を与えようとする代わりに、あなたの腕で相手を抱きしめたいと思います。

ですから、無常の洞察が私たちには必要です。無常の概念ではありません。もし、私たちが無常の洞察を持っているなら、「空」の洞察も持っており、「無相」の洞察もまた得ることができます(「空」と「無相」は三解脱門の二つ)。無常でないものは何もありませんので、あなたは自己という考えに捉われません。全ての物は変化しています。そして、全ての物は他の全ての物を含んでいます。花は全宇宙を含んでいます。そして、あなたの最愛の人もまた、全宇宙を含んでいます。太陽、月、地球、全ての物。

ですから、金剛経が私たちに取り除くことを推薦する第一の形、即ち概念は、「自己という概念」です。すると、あなたは多くの自由を得ます。その自由は、あなたが通りに出て行ってデモをして得られるものではありません。その自由は、深く観る瞑想の結果です。自己の概念を取り除くと、あなたは自由に足を踏み入れます。あなたには比較する自己がありませんので、あなたは優越感、劣等感、平等感から自由になります。一方がより高く、一方がより低いと見るために、二者の自己間で比較するから、あなたにはコンプレックスがあるのです。そして、あなたはまだ比較しているから、平等に認識されることにこだわるのです。しかし、あなたは相手の中にあり、相手はあなたの中にあり、二人は相互に依存していること、二人共独立した存在ではなく無我であることが分かれば、あなたは比較する必要がなくなります。すると、あなたは三つのコンプレックス(優越感、劣等感、平等感)から自由になります。

ですから、心理療法においては、低い自尊心は病です。そして、その癒しとは自己を宣伝しようとすること、自己を少し高く持ち上げようとすることです。それは根本的な方法ではありません。しかし、高い自尊心もまた病の一種であることを私たちは理解する必要があります。低い自尊心は多くの苦しみをもたらしますが、高い自尊心もまた多くの苦しみをもたらします。あなたは多くの人々を苦しませることができますし、あなたもまた苦しみます。そして、平等感もまた健康的ではありません。「全ての物は他の全ての物を含んでいる」、「全ての人は独立した自己ではない」という偉大な洞察が必要なだけです。すると、もはや比較がなくなります。そして、あなたは苦しみから抜け出します。あなたは全宇宙があなたの中にあることを知っていますので、認知度を高める必要はありません。仏陀があなたの中にいるのです。思いやりがあなたの中にあります。太陽があなたの中に入っています。あなたには全くコンプレックスがなくなり、それは完全な解放です。それが自由へ足を踏み入れることであり、自己という概念の除去です。
:引用おわり

(解説)
上記のティク・ナット・ハンの法話は、般若心経と同様に、究極の真理(非二元性)に基づいていることに注意する必要があります。

(参考)http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/4.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/the-heart-sutra-revised-4-4.html


ティク・ナット・ハンの書

Friday, November 27, 2015

幸せと苦しみの技術

次のティク・ナット・ハンのビデオを1:39:34~1:48:50迄ご覧ください。


引用:
念息経(十六念息)を学ぶと、優れた実践者になるには幸せと苦しみに対処する技術を学ぶ必要があることが分かります。それは技術です。瞑想は重労働ではありません。瞑想は術ですので、多くの巧みさを必要とします。もし、あなたが幸せの対処法を知らないなら、幸せはあっという間に何か他のものに変わってしまいます。あなたが経験する愛は、最初の頃はとても美しいです。そして、あなたはその愛なしでは、生存できないと信じます。しかし、あなたが愛に栄養を与える技術を知らないなら、その愛は死んでしまい、他の酸っぱいものに変わるでしょう。

仏陀は、「食料なしで生き残れるものはない」と言いました。 あなたの愛は食料が必要です。あなたは適切にあなたの愛を養う必要があります。あなたがマインドフルで、集中しているなら、あなたが今持っているもの、つまりあなたの愛を大切にするでしょう。私たちは非常に気をつかう必要があります。私たちは一緒にいる全ての瞬間を大切にする必要があります。私たちは自分の愛を養う方法を学ぶ必要があります。

誤って、私たちの愛が愛よりも小さい別物になったとしても、私たちは絶望してはいけません。愛が愛以外の要素からできていることを、私たちは知っているからです。蓮(幸せ)は泥(苦しみ)を含む、蓮以外の要素からできています。ですから、巧みさによって、私たちは再び蓮を育てるために、泥を十分に活用することができます。良い有機的な庭師は決してゴミを捨てることはありません。庭師は堆肥を作り、将来の花を養うためにゴミを保存する方法を知っています。

苦しみと幸せもまた、有機的な性質を持っています。たまたま、幸せが苦しみになったとしても、絶望しないようにしましょう​​。巧みさと実践で、私たちは苦しみを幸せへ変えて元に戻すことができます。私たちは蓮の花を創造するために、泥を十分に活用することができます。私たちは苦しみから学ぶべきです。すると、「苦しみから逃げようとしないで」と、苦しみが私たちを指導できます。仏陀の最初の教えは、不幸、つまり苦しみから始まる四聖諦に関するものです。もし、私たちが苦しみから逃げようとするなら、苦しみの性質を理解する機会を逃し、幸せを創造する方法を知ることができません。幸せを創造する方法を知るためには、私たちは苦しみ、つまり苦しみの本質を理解する必要があります。

それが、幸せに対処する技術がある理由であり、苦しみに対処する技術がある理由です。「苦しむ技術」は、私の次の本の題名であるべきです。私たちの僧侶よ、私に代わってそれを書いてください。確か、「幸せの技術」は既に、ダライ・ラマによって書かれていると思います。私たちはもう一つの本、「苦しみの技術」が必要です。あなたが苦しみ方を知っているなら、あまり苦しむことはありません。そして、幸せを創造するために、あなたは苦しみを十分に活用することができます。実際に、私たちは苦しみから多くのことを学びます。苦しみの理解が思いやりを発生させることを私たちは知っています。そして、思いやりは幸せの非常に重要な要素です。私たちに思いやりがなければ、私たちは幸せな人になることはできません。私たちは全く一人ぼっちで、切り離されてしまいます。他の生き物と関係することができません。ですから、思いやりは幸せのために極めて重要なのです。

思いやりが生じるようにするためには、私たちは苦しみの本質を掘り下げなければなりません。苦しみを理解することが、思いやりをもたらします。ですから、神の王国には苦しみがあるのです。苦しみの要素がなければ、理解と思いやりを生じさせる望みはありません。あなたが蓮を育てたいなら、泥が必要なのです。ですから、神の王国に苦しみがあるのは当然です。しかし、神の王国では、人々は苦しみを十分に活用する方法を知っていて、苦しみに自分を圧倒させたりはしません。そして、私たちは幸せを創造するために、苦しみを十分に活用する方法を学び実践することにより、王国を建設する作業に参加しなければなりません。そして、もし幸せが悪化したなら、私たちは苦しみを活用する実践によって、幸せを復元する方法を知っています。

「それがあるから、これがある。」これは仏陀の教えです。非常に単純ですが、非常に深い意味があります。「これがあるのは、それがあるから。(若此有必彼有)」それは、誕生があるなら、死もあるべきであることを意味します。右があるなら、左があります。存在があるなら、非存在があります。ですから、これら正反対の対は、常に同時に顕現します。これは一般的真理のレベルです。しかし、私たちがより深掘りすれば、一般的真理を超越し、生も死もなく、存在も非存在もないという、究極の真理を見つけ出すでしょう。

科学は同じ種類のことを実験していると私は思います。ニュートンに代表される古典科学は一般的真理のようなものです。それは適用できます。はい。しかし、量子力学に至ると、私たちは全く異なる物事の見方をします。時間、空間、物質、エネルギー、素粒子、波動。量子力学では、これらを異なる物とは見ません。これらは、正に同じ物です。ですから、科学者と仏教の実践者は、今世紀一緒に取り組み、お互いに助け合うことができます。
:引用おわり

(解説)
上記のティク・ナット・ハンの法話は、四聖諦と同様に、一般的真理(二元性)に基づいていることに注意する必要があります。

(参考)http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B012YZBHHS
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/blog-post_28.html 

ティク・ナット・ハン

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Art of Happiness and Suffering

Watch the following Thay's video from 1:39:34 to 1:48:50.


Quote:
Learning The Sutra on Mindful Breathing, we know that a good practitioner has to learn how to handle happiness and how to handle suffering. That is an art. Meditation is not a hard labour. Meditation needs a lot of skillfulness because that is an art. If you don't know how to handle happiness, happiness will turn into something else very soon. The love that you experience in the beginning is so beautiful. And you believe that without that love,  you can not survive. But if you don't know the art of nourishing love, it will die and turn into something else sour. 

The Buddha said, "Nothing can survive without food". Your love needs food. You have to feed your love properly. And if you are mindful, concentrated, you will cherish what you are having now, your love. We have to be very attentive. We have to cherish every moment of our being together. We have to learn how to feed our love.

And if by mistake, our love has turned into something else less than love, we should not be despaired. Because we know that love is made of non-love elements. Lotus is made of non-lotus elements, including the mud. So, the skillfulness, we can make good use of the mud in order to cultivate lotus again. A good organic gardener never throws away garbage. She knows how to preserve the garbage in order to make compost and nourish future flowers. 

Suffering and happiness are also of organic nature. If by chance, happiness becomes suffering, let us not despair. With our skillfulness and practice, we can transform suffering back into happiness. We can make good use of mud in order to create lotus flower. We should learn from the suffering. And suffering can instruct us, "Don't try to run away from suffering". The first teaching of the Buddha is about the Four Noble Truths which begins with the ill-being, suffering. If we try to run away from it, we have no chance to understand the nature of suffering and we don't know how to create happiness. In order to know how to create happiness, we have to understand suffering, the nature of suffering. 

And that is why there is an art of handling happiness but there is an art of handling suffering. The art to suffer should be the title of my next book. Our priests, please write it for me. We have already the Art of Happiness, I think, written by Dalai Lama. We need another book, the Art of Suffering. If you know how to suffer, you don't suffer much. And you can make good use of suffering in order to create happiness. In fact, we learn a lot from suffering. We know that understanding of suffering will give rise to compassion. And compassion is a very important element of happiness. Without compassion in us, we can not be a happy person. We are utterly alone, cut off. We can not relate to any other living beings. That is why compassion is very crucial for happiness. 

And in order for compassion to arise, we have to dig into the nature of suffering. Understanding suffering will bring about compassion. That is why in the kingdom of God, there is suffering. Without the element of suffering, you have no hope to create understanding and compassion. If you want to grow lotus, you need the mud. So, it's natural that there is suffering in the kingdom of God. But in the kingdom of God, people know how to make good use of the suffering, and do not let suffering overwhelm us. And we have to participate in the work of building the kingdom by practicing, by learning how to make good use of suffering in order to create happiness. And if happiness deteriorates, we know how to restore it by the practice of using suffering.

This is, because that is. This is the teaching of the Buddha. It's very simple but it's very deep. This is because that is. 「若此有必彼有」 It means that if birth is there, death should be there. If right is there, left is there. If being is there, non-being is there. So, these pairs of opposites, they always manifest at the same time. That is on the level of the conventional truth. But if we get deeper, we will transcend the conventional truth and will find out the ultimate truth where there is no birth and no death, no being and no non-being. 


I think the science is experimenting the same kind of thing. Classical science represented by Newton is something like on the conventional truth. It can be applied. Yes. But when we come to quantum mechanics, we see things quite differently. Time, space, matter, energy, particle, wave. We don't see them to be different things. They are the very much the same things. So, it is possible that scientists and Buddhist practitioners can work together in this century and they can help each others.
:Unquote

(My commentary) 
We need to be careful that the above Thay's Dharma Talk is based on the conventional truth (duality), just like the Four Noble Truths.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/16-exercises-on-mindful-breathing.html 

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Impermanence

Watch the following Thay's video from 46:10 to 57:00.


Quote:
The seed is made only of non-seed elements. The suffering is like that. Happiness is like that. The Buddha is like that. Cloud is like that. Everything is like that. Everything is a composite thing. And we have the word, "formation" to designate composite things. Samskara, "行 (Hang)" in Chinese. Every composite thing, every formation is impermanent. This is famous statement in Buddhist literature, "諸行無常 (All formations are impermanent.)" Because things are impermanent, they don't retain absolute identities. They change all the time. No one can swim twice in the same river. And even if we are the same persons, the river is not the same river. And many sages have seen that. Not only Buddha but also all sages have seen this reality of impermanence.

And you know that the last four exercise of mindful breathing is about four kinds of concentrations that help us to liberate. The 13th (exercise), contemplating impermanence. This is one concentration. And in every tradition of Buddhism, impermanence is a practice of concentration, samadhi. We all have an idea about impermanence. We know that things are impermanent. We accept the truth of impermanence. But we do not have the concentration of impermanence. Whoever know perfectly what impermanence is, accept the truth of impermanence. But we still behave as if things are permanent.

If you have a concentration of impermanence, when you look at your partner, you know that she is impermanent and you are impermanent. And what you can do is to make her happy today, you do it. Because tomorrow may be too late. But many of us behave as if she is going to be there for one thousand years. And if something happens, she is no longer there and we come to cry. Because we don't have the insight of impermanence. We only have a notion of impermanence. So, good practitioners are not satisfied with notions she got from a dharma talk. She practices mindfulness and concentration in order to maintain that insight alive. And if the insight is alive in her, then she behaves perfectly. And she will not regret in the future.

If you know that your beloved one is impermanent and you are also impermanent, you will not get angry at her and make her suffer. Suppose someone is angry at his beloved. And the practice recommended to him is to close his eyes and visualize his beloved one three hundred years from now. And it only takes a few seconds to touch the reality of impermanence and to see that is not intelligent at all to get angry at her. And you cherish the time being together. And when you open your eyes, your treasures are present and you want to hold her in your arms instead of trying to punish her, saying something strong.

So, the insight of impermanence is what we need.  And not the notion of impermanence. And if we have the insight of impermanence, we have the insight of emptiness and we also get the insight of signlessness. You are not caught by the idea of self because nothing is permanent. Everything is changing. And everything contains everything else. A flower contains the whole cosmos. And your beloved one contains the whole cosmos also. The sun, the moon, the earth, everything.

So, the first sign, or the notion the Diamond Sutra recommends us to remove is the notion of self. And you have a lot of freedom, a lot of liberty. That liberty, you can't go out to the street and demonstrate in order to get. That liberty is the result of deep looking meditation. And removing the notion of self, you step into freedom. You are free from the complex of superiority, of inferiority and of equality because you see no self to compare. You have a complex because you compare between two selves to see that one is higher, one is lower. And because you still compare, that is why you remain to be recognized as equal. But if you know that you are in him, he is in you and you inter-are, that both of you are empty, there is no self, and you don’t have to compare. And you are free from three kinds of complexes.

So, in psychotherapy, low self-esteem is sickness. And the healing is trying to promote the self, to bring it a little higher. That’s not a fundamental way. But we have to see that high self-esteem is also a kind of sickness. Low self-esteem brings a lot of suffering but high self-esteem also brings a lot of suffering. You can make many people suffer and you suffer also. And also a complex of equality is not healthy. Only the big insight, the great insight that everything contains everything else, everyone is empty of separate self. And there will be no more comparison. And you get out of suffering. And you don’t have to get recognition because you know that the whole cosmos is in you. The Buddha is in you. The consideration is in you. The sun is in you. You have no complex at all and that is complete liberation. That is stepping into freedom, the removal of notion of self.

:Unquote

(My commentary) 
We need to be careful that the above Thay's Dharma Talk is based on the ultimate truth (non-duality), just like the Heart Sutra.


(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/4.html
http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/the-heart-sutra-revised-4-4.html
Thay's calligraphy

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Ultimate Truth

Ultimate Truth can only be noumenal? Are you sure? I understand that Ultimate Truth (non-duality or wholeness) can be touched both in noumenal world and phenomenal world if we are awareness (awakened consciousness). I also understand that all other animals, plants and minerals in the phenomenal world are touching the reality as it is because they don't think. They are subject to time and space but are "real". Of course, if we are ego, it's impossible to touch the Ultimate Truth. That's because what ego sees is what ego thinks.

In Buddhism, Emptiness is the Ultimate Truth and is explained in the Heart Sutra. In the Heart Sutra, I understand that two kinds of Emptiness is described, namely Emptiness in the phenomenal world and Emptiness in the noumenal world. Usually, Buddhists explain that Emptiness means "empty of separate existence (or self)". In other words, Emptiness means that all pairs of opposites are interdependent co-arising, namely two sides of the same coin. They are not two but are not one (non-duality). 

And the first half of the Heart Sutra explains Emptiness as above. Meanwhile, the latter half of the Heart Sutra explains Emptiness as the noumenal world. It is described that in Emptiness nothing (no matter) can exist and no phenomena can manifest. I understand that's because there is no space and time in the noumenal world. If so, Voidness may be more proper than Emptiness. 

Therefore, there can be two kinds of Ultimate Truths to transcend the duality in the two worlds. Namely, Ultimate Truth in the phenomenal world is interdependent co-arising (non-duality), and Ultimate Truth in the noumenal world is wholeness (monism). That's why some people may make distinctions between Voidness and Emptiness. Of course, in the ultimate dimension, there is only the noumenal world, and in the historical dimension, there is only the phenomenal world. 

Someone said, "One presumes, given the way the question is formed, that the "Viewer" is perceiving from the "Ultimate" State, and can still differentiate from what is phenomenal and what is Noumenal." I understand that the viewer is awareness (awakened consciousness), so s/he can transcend space and time. In other words, there is no separation between the noumenal world and the phenomenal world for awareness. Awareness can touch the true nature of reality without perceiving. This can be explained well by the theory of quantum physics called the enfolded (implicate) order and the unfolded (explicate) order. Body enfolds into consciousness. And consciousness unfolds into body.

"NOTHING EXISTS and that I AM NOT!" is a good expression of the noumenal world without space and time. Someone said, "what was being viewed around me (the universe) was no more than a concept, that objects and things are not what they are said to be". My understanding is as follows: If our mind sees psychological, physical, physiological phenomena as objects, what we see is only a projection or reflection of mind, namely an illusion or a delusion. Meanwhile, if awareness attains insight, or a direct view of truth itself without mind, what we see is the true nature of reality. (for more details: http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/true-nature-of-reality.html)

For Voidness (full enlightenment), we (awareness) need to throw away all notions by touching the true nature of reality. One method is mindfulness, concentration and insight. (for more details: http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/words-and-concepts.html)

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00WBTLNEU

Einstein's Theory of Relativity Photo by Elizabeth Therese Niwel

Monday, November 23, 2015

Words and Concepts

The followings are excerpts from Thay's book titled "The Sun My Heart".

Quote:
(Words and Concepts)
With words it is especially difficult to escape from conceptual categorizations; and even if the speaker skillfully avoids them, the listener can still fall into their traps. Remember the empty bottles? They had definite shapes and sizes even before being filled. People who practice Zen often advise not using words.
This is not to discredit words, but to avoid the danger of  becoming stuck in them. It is to encourage us to use words as skillfully as possible for the sake of those who hear them.
In the second century, Nagarjuna wrote The Madhyamika Sastra, in which he used concepts to destroy concepts. He was not trying to create a new doctrine, but to break all the bottles, all the flasks, all the vases, all the containers, to prove that water needs no form to exist. He outlined a dance for us, a dance for us to drop our categories and barriers so that we can directly encounter reality and not content ourselves with its mere reflection.

(Knowledge is a Barrier to Understanding)
Old knowledge is the obstacle to new understanding; Buddhism
calls it "the barrier built of knowledge." Like those who are awakened, great scientists have undergone great internal changes. If they are able to achieve profound realizations, it is because their powers of observation, concentration, and awareness are deeply developed.
Understanding is not an accumulation of knowledge. To the contrary, it is the result of the struggle to become free of knowledge. Understanding shatters old knowledge to make room for the new that accords better with reality.

(Unable to Describe It)
Understanding, in humans, is translated into concepts, thoughts, and words. Understanding is not an aggregate of bits of knowledge. It is a direct and immediate penetration. In the realm of sentiment, it is feeling. In the realm of intellect, it is perception.
It is an intuition rather than the culmination of reasoning. Every now and again it is fully present in us, and we find we cannot express it in words, thoughts, or concepts. "Unable to describe
it," that is our situation at such moments. Insights like this are spoken of in Buddhism as "impossible to reason about, to discuss, or to incorporate into doctrines or systems of thought."
:Unquote

(My commentary)
Notions, ideas, perceptions and words are for separations created by human ego (separate self). They cause separations (discrimination) and prevent people from attaining freedom. (Freedom can be attained only through non-separation, or non-discrimination.) So, they are the source of afflictions which cause people sufferings. That's why we need to throw away all notions to attain full enlightenment. For the extinction of all notions, we (awareness) need to touch the true nature of reality through mindfulness, concentration and insight. 

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Sunday, November 22, 2015

True nature of reality

The followings are excerpts from Thay's book titled "The Sun My Heart".

Quote:
Abandoning concepts is of prime importance for a meditator. When we observe our body, our feelings, our thoughts, our perceptions, we situate them in space and time just as when we observe physical phenomena. We see psychological phenomena and physical, physiological phenomena. 
You may ask, "When mind becomes the object of its own observation, is that which is grasped mind itself or only a projection or reflection of mind?" This is a good question. You may also want to ask, "When physiological and physical phenomena are observed as objects, do they keep their true nature or do they become just a projection or reflection of reality, transformed by becoming objects of observation?" Our mind creates categories-space and time, above and below, inside and outside, myself and others, cause and effect, birth and death, one and many-and puts all physical and psychological phenomena into categories like these before examining them and trying to find their true nature. It is like filling many different shapes and sizes of bottles with water in order to find out the shape and size of water. Truth itself transcends these concepts, so if you want to penetrate it you must break all the conceptual categories you use in normal daily life. The Theory of Relativity recognizes that if you do not abandon the idea that space and time are absolute and independent of one another, you cannot make progress in understanding the universe. Quantum Theory says that if you want to understand the world of subatomic particles, you must leave behind matter and empty space, cause and effect, front and back, concepts so useful in daily life.

Quantum theorists today know that the consciousness of the observer is in a very close relationship with the object observed, and they are directing more and more of their attention to that
consciousness. In 1979, France-Culture organized a one-week meeting in Cordoba, Spain, on "Mind and Science." Many renowned scholars were present, and a number of them affirmed their conviction that the world and mind have the same nature. Although some scientists have seen the fundamental
characteristic of mind, I am afraid that most still want to study it like any other object in their laboratories. Then it is no longer mind, but the projection or reflection of it, framed by conceptions. Remember the phrase from the Satipatthana
Sutta: "Observe the body in the body, observe the feelings in the feelings, observe the mind in the mind, observe the objects of mind in the objects of mind." This means that you must live in the body in full awareness of it, and not just study it like a separate object. Live in awareness with feelings, mind, and objects of mind. Do not just study them. When we meditate on our body, we live with it as truth and give it our most lucid attention; we become one with it. The flower blossoms because sunlight touches and warms its bud, becoming one with it. Meditation reveals not a concept of truth, but a direct view of truth itself. This we call Insight, the kind of understanding based on attention and concentration.

Thinking is to take cinder blocks of concepts from the memory warehouse and build monuments. We call these hovels and palaces "thoughts." But such thinking, by itself, has no creative value. It is only when lit by understanding that thinking takes on real substance. Understanding does not arise as a result of thinking. It is a result of the long process of conscious awareness. Sometimes understanding can be translated into thoughts, but often thoughts are too rigid and limited to carry much understanding. Sometimes a look or a laugh expresses understanding much better than words or thoughts.
:Unquote

(My commentary)
If our mind sees psychological, physical, physiological phenomena as objects, what we see is only a projection or reflection of mind, namely an illusion or a delusion. Meanwhile, if awareness attains insight, or a direct view of truth itself without mind, what we see is the true nature of reality. Therefore, in order to see the true nature of reality, we need to stop our mind or thinking and look deeply. For that, we need to live in awareness through mindfulness and concentration. Awareness transcends space and time, so can live in phenomenal world and noumenal world at the same time. 

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/11/the-heart-sutra-revised-4-4.html

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Awareness

               insight = fruit of concentration by awareness
               awareness = fruit of mindfulness
               mindfulness = fruit of mindful breathing

The followings are excerpts from Thay's book titled "The Sun My Heart".

Quote:
To be aware is to be aware of something. When the mind settles on the mountain, it becomes the mountain. When it settles on the sea, it becomes the sea. When we say "know," both the known and the knower are included. When we meditate on our body, we are our body; we limit our observations to our body, even though we realize that our body is not separate from the rest of the universe. If we meditate on limitless space, we become limitless space (akasanantyayatana). If we meditate on the consciousness which includes both space and time, we reach the state of limitless consciousness (vijiiananantyayatana). If we meditate on the absence of identity of all things, we enter the state of nothingness (akiiicanyayatana). If we meditate on the non-distinction between knower and known, we come to the state of "neither perception nor nonperception" (naivasaiijiianasaiijiiayatana). The Four Formless States of Consciousness are not as difficult to reach as you might think, provided awareness is there to shine on every movement of the mind. 
:Unquote

(My commentary)
When we meditate, we need to become one with the object. We should not stand outside of the object. If we live in awareness, it is very easy to reach The Four Formless States of Consciousness. The key is to stop thinking, or to stop mind.

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Friday, November 20, 2015

Letter to President

Please refer to Thay's Letter to President G.W.Bush (8.8.2006).
http://plumvillage.org/letters-from-thay/letter-to-president-g-w-bush-august-8-2006/

Mr. President, I think that if you could allow yourself to cry like I did this morning, you will also feel much better. It is our brothers that we kill over there. They are our brothers, God tells us so, and we also know it. They may not see us as brothers because of their anger, their misunderstanding, and their discrimination. But with some awakening, we can see things in a different way, and this will allow us to respond differently to the situation. I trust God in you; I trust Buddha nature in you.

Please refer to Sister Mai Nghiem's Letter to President Hollande (17th November, 2015).
http://plumvillage.org/news/dear-president-hollande/

May we all together work to build a world where attentive and compassionate listening to the suffering endured by both sides prevails over the unnecessary escalation of violence that no one wishes for, where the desire for deep and genuine understanding triumphs over our prejudices, our fears and our thirst for vengeance or power;
So that together we may, as Gandhi said, not just keep ourselves from making the world blind, but also light a spark of life, of hope and of love in the eyes of its inhabitants.


(My commentary)
Thay's sentence of "Let us go home as brothers and sisters" is very deep. Home means this planet earth.  Brothers and sisters means that we are all the same. We are made of water, air, earth and sunshine. The whole cosmos is in us. So, we are the whole cosmos. When our bodies disintegrate, we return to our home, or the whole cosmos. And when causes and conditions are sufficient, we will manifest again in different forms in the phenomenal world. In other words, French people are made of non-French people elements, including Islamic State people. So, Islamic State people are inside of French people. Namely, French people are Islamic State people. How can we kill ourselves? How can brothers and sisters kill each other? Impossible! We need to stop separations, or discrimination right now. Instead, we need to embrace each other unconditionally. We need to understand the root cause of sufferings each other. For that, we need the deep listening capacity for mutual understanding. Once we understand the root cause of our sufferings, we can generate compassion and transform our anger and hatred to peace. That's the way to be happy!

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.com/Unconditional-Love-Accept-just-way-ebook/dp/B00LA87R7A/ref=as_sl_pc_tf_ssw?&linkCode=wss&tag=practofcompa-20


Thay's calligraphy

Thursday, November 19, 2015

マインドフルネスの効果

<完全な悟りの全体像>

1)マインドフルな呼吸、歩行... ⇒

2)思考(= 分離)停止 ⇒
3)非分離(= 自由) ⇒
4)マインドフルネス ⇒
5)目覚めた意識 ⇒
6)生命の奇跡に触れる ⇒
7)喜びと幸せ ⇒
8)自分の内面と周囲で何が起こっているかを認識 ⇒
9)集中(= 深く見る) ⇒
10)洞察(= 根本原因を理解) ⇒
11)愛と思いやり ⇒
12)平和(= 煩悩なし) ⇒
13)心の投影なし ⇒
14)現実の本質に触れる ⇒
15)全ての概念、考え、知覚の絶滅 ⇒
16)完全な悟り(= 目覚め)

* マインドフルネスのその他効果:

(1)止める
(2)静める
(3)休める
(4)癒す
(5)リラックスさせる
(6)ストレスを減らす
(7)心をより明晰にする
(8)血圧を下げる
(9)心臓血管系の改善
(10)免疫の増強
(11)集中を深める
(12)人生の浮き沈みからすぐに立ち直れる
(13)肯定的な感情を育む
(14)人生に流されず、人生により深く触れ、周囲と一緒に居る
(15)困難な思考や感情をうまく扱う

* 分離とは、人が自分を無条件に受け容れる(愛する)ことができないため、他も無条件に受け容れる(愛する)ことができないしるしです。

* 瞑想、即ちマインドフルな呼吸の実践は、基本的に実費を除き、無料で提供されるべきです。もし、瞑想料金が設定されているなら、その組織は純粋なスピリチュアル団体ではなく、強欲な事業会社であるということを覚えておいてください。

(参考)http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B012YZBHHS

ティク・ナット・ハンの書

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Effects of mindfulness

< The whole picture of full enlightenment >

1) mindful breathing, walking... ⇒
2) stop thinking (=separation) ⇒ 
3) non-separation (=freedom) ⇒ 
4) mindfulness ⇒ 
5) awareness  ⇒ 
6) touch the wonders of life ⇒ 
7) joy and happiness ⇒ 
8) recognize what is going on inside and around oneself  ⇒ 
9) concentration (=deep looking) ⇒ 
10) insight (=understanding the root cause) ⇒ 
11) love and compassion ⇒ 
12) peace (=no afflictions) ⇒ 
13) no projection of mind ⇒ 
14) touch the true nature of reality ⇒ 
15) extinction of all notions, ideas and perceptions ⇒ 
16) full enlightenment (=awakening)

* Other effects of mindfulness:
(1) Stopping
(2) Calming
(3) Resting
(4) Healing
(5) Relaxing
(6) Reducing stress
(7) Developing more clarity of mind
(8) Reducing blood pressure
(9) Improving the cardiovascular system
(10) Boosts the immune system
(11) Developing focus and concentration
(12) Becoming more resilient to ups and downs of life
(13) Cultivating positive emotions
(14) Moving out of "autopilot" and into being more present in our lives and more present with those we are with
(15) Managing our difficult thoughts and emotions

* Separation is a sign that one can’t accept (love) others unconditionally because one can’t accept (love) oneself unconditionally.

* Meditation, or practice of mindful breathing should be offered free of charge basically except for actual cost. Please remember if meditation fee is charged, the organization is not a purely spiritual body but it is a greedy business corporation.

(Cf.) http://compassion5151.blogspot.jp/2015/10/notice-of-building-awakening-sangha.html
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014NYEP04

Thay's calligraphy

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

人間の4つのカテゴリー

人間の4つのカテゴリー >

                            知能的 (I) -------- 知能的でない (N-I)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
目覚めた意識 (A) -     I ()           N-I * A (×)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
エゴ (E)              -     I * E (×)           N-I * E (××)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                [力(パワー)] ---------------------[精神的に]
第一層:     知能的 目覚めた意識              知能的 目覚めた意識
第二層:     知能的 エゴ                            知能的でない 目覚めた意識
第三層:     知能的でない 目覚めた意識     知能的 エゴ
第四層:     知能的でない エゴ                    知能的でない エゴ

(例):  知能的 目覚めた意識 (): ティク・ナット・ハン、仏陀、イエス...
        知能的 エゴ (×): オバマ、オランド、イスラム国...
        知能的でない 目覚めた意識 (×): 仏陀、イエスの弟子...
        知能的でない エゴ (××): 一般人

(危険度):
第一層:     知能的 エゴ (×)
第二層:    知能的でない エゴ (××)
第三層:     知能的でない 目覚めた意識 (×)
第四層:     知能的 目覚めた意識 ()

(助言):
知能的 目覚めた意識 ( サンガ(実践者の共同体)を構築!
知能的 エゴ (× エゴを手放せ!
知能的でない 目覚めた意識 (× 知能を習得!
知能的でない エゴ (×× エゴを手放して、知能を習得!

(Cf.) http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B012YZBHHS

ティク・ナット・ハンの書