But Buddha Clearly Shows the Way

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But Buddha Clearly Shows the Way Du Yên But Buddha Clearly Shows the Way But Buddha clearly Shows the Way Du Yên But Buddha clearly Shows the Way Cover design by Du Yên Bodhi leaf drawing by Wolfgang Heidrich Life of the Buddha illustrations in watercolors by Don Lê Tiền Lê Printed in the United States of America 2011, Buddhist Era 2555 ISBN 978-0-9807224-2-0 This book is for free distribution, it is not for sale. In Loving Memory of my Mother To my younger generations of Phạm, Lê, Nguyễn, and Tiền with love 7 Contents Preface ..................................................................................................................... 9 Notes ...................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter One: A Religion and a Philosophy ........................................................... 13 Buddhism as a Religion ................................................................................. 14 Buddhism as a Philosophy .............................................................................. 18 Chapter Two: Sakyamuni Buddha ......................................................................... 21 The Birth of the Prince ................................................................................. 22 The Four Encounters ..................................................................................... 25 The Rejection of Worldly Life ......................................................................... 27 The Austerities ............................................................................................. 29 The Teachings .............................................................................................. 33 The Passage into Final Nirvana ....................................................................... 34 Chapter Three: The Buddha’s Teachings–Dharma ................................................ 37 The Four Noble Truths ................................................................................... 38 The Noble Eightfold Path ............................................................................... 42 Karma ......................................................................................................... 47 Impermanence ............................................................................................. 52 Wisdom and Compassion ............................................................................... 56 Rebirth ........................................................................................................ 58 Three Poisons ............................................................................................... 62 The Buddhist Canon and Councils ................................................................... 66 The Schools of Buddhism ............................................................................... 69 Chapter Four: The Monastic Community–Sangha ................................................. 73 Chapter Five: Buddhist Practice ............................................................................. 79 8 The Threefold Refuge .................................................................................... 80 The Five Moral Precepts ................................................................................ 82 The Four Sublime States ................................................................................. 85 Charitable Giving .......................................................................................... 89 Chapter Six: Buddhist Symbols ............................................................................. 91 Chapter Seven: Buddhist Stories ............................................................................ 99 The Missing Ring ........................................................................................ 100 King Banyan Deer ...................................................................................... 103 Kisa Gautami ............................................................................................. 109 The Sour Fruit of Greed ............................................................................... 111 The Monkey Trap ........................................................................................ 115 Karma Stories ............................................................................................. 116 Chapter Eight: Buddhist Monuments ................................................................... 119 Stupa ........................................................................................................ 120 Pagoda ...................................................................................................... 126 Temple ...................................................................................................... 132 Chapter Nine: Buddhism in Vietnam ................................................................... 151 The Dawn .................................................................................................. 154 Buddhism in the Early Centuries .................................................................. 155 Buddhism in the 20th Century ....................................................................... 160 Buddhism in the 21st Century ........................................................................ 166 Epilogue ............................................................................................................... 177 From my heart...................................................................................................... 183 References Table.................................................................................................. 187 Attribution ........................................................................................................... 195 9 Preface I was working on a project on Buddhism when I visited my brother and his family a year ago. During my stay, I often used their family kitchen table as my work station when I searched for articles on Buddhism and in-depth writings by learned scholars. My ten-year-old niece would join me regularly; she would sit quietly by me and gazed at my papers. One day, as she recognized that my collected articles were beyond her comprehension, she shyly asked when I would write an easy-to-read book on Buddhism for her and her brother. Her interest surprised me strikingly. In her bright childish eyes I could read a fervent desire to learn, an intense craving for knowledge. As I could not resist the call, I quickly shelved my other project and started on this book. My covert ambition is to also dedicate this book to my adult children, and younger nieces and nephews. To them, Buddhism is probably a vague concept that they momentarily experience with prayers and worships for deceased loved ones, at home or in temples. So, my audience encompasses a wide range of ages: from first-year middle school students to successful professionals, some have or are starting their own family. The book began with simple writings in the first chapters, and then progressed to include abundant and complex information in the later chapters, in particular, Chapters Eight and Nine. The following review gives my readers a glimpse of the book: . Buddhism is commonly regarded as a religion, although some scholars consider Buddhism rather a philosophy. Chapter One addresses those different views. Chapter Two narrates the life of Sakyamuni Buddha, founder of Buddhism. Chapter Three explains essential topics in Buddhism or the Buddha’s teachings–the Dharma. Chapter Four illustrates the Buddhist monastic 10 Preface community–the Sangha and its activities. Thus, the three chapters together represent the Triple Gems in Buddhism–the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Chapter Five complements them with Buddhist Practice, a guideline for Buddhists’ everyday life. We may sometimes encounter Buddhist symbols, the meaning of which seems quite unclear to us. Chapter Six provides their distinctive significance, while readers will enjoy inspiring Buddhist stories in Chapter Seven. Chapter Eight takes readers on a tour to a few notable Buddhist monuments in the world. As my readers are Vietnamese descendants, I cherish the thought that, although they were born and raised abroad, they would love to learn about Buddhism in their parents’ homeland. Vietnam, officially named Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a single-party state with the Communist Party of Vietnam being the only ruling legal political party. Chapter Nine reports the history of Buddhism in Vietnam, from the early centuries until as recently as in August 2010. It also documents the events and facts of religious oppression in Vietnam, witnessed and verified by the international community, and concealed by the country’s authority. * * * I do not intend to write this book as a school textbook on Buddhism. Neither do I ask my readers to accept my view; rather, I encourage them to form their own opinion based on the fundamental aspects of Buddhism presented in this book. I am committed to facing an exciting challenge of writing for an audience that is very much diverse in age, aptitude, interest, and lifestyle. If this book sparks my readers’ interest in further exploring Buddhism, I would consider my wish fulfilled. 11 Notes 1. Buddhism originated from India. The Buddhist scriptures were recorded in Pali, an ancient language of India. Because Sanskrit was considered the primary liturgical1 language of Hinduism
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