Hug me please

When I first learned the Dharma, I have often heard the sentence: "Cultivation without study is blind, study without cultivation is a book”. This sentence is simple, but it has to go through five years, ten years, twenty years and so on in the new religion, we well understand its true meaning.

We are fortunate to study the teachings of the Buddist scriptures as well as to approach more practical methods that the Masters have instructed. If you rely on it to cultivate and just follow a little bit, the benefits are enormous. Truthfully, I'm just a beginner, not “a modest is fourth times of egotistic”. The only thought is that we like to learn, like to read, like to think and remember how much to apply into practice, so certainly I never dare to receive the noble title "cultivator”. Especially when applying the experiences the ancients passed back, I feel a lot of interesting things.

 These days, I accidentally read the book Mind Meditation Being Foundation   of the Insight Meditator of U Indaka meditator translated by Phap Thong. The content of the book is on the title, which is the method of meditation which the Buddha and the ancient Arahants practiced. The Zen Masters of Buddhist countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myamar, ... almost everyone knows about this practical method.  The essence of the meditation method is scattered in the Nikaya scriptures as follows:

 He lives at one direction.  Long time is due to the practitioners are determined to release the separation and legal evil or not, so the second, the third and the fourth directions. Thus, all over the world, on the horizontal, all the places, all over the borderlessness, he stays with generousity, boundlessness, no hatred and no anger.

The scriptures are so brief. Whoever is enough blessed will find a clearer description of the practical method. What is kind of kindness? What is the meaning of the kindness training? Who are the near and further enemies of the kindness? How to meditate for the kindness? What are the benefits of practicing kindness meditation? These contents are brief but completed written by Budhaghosa in the book The Great Path of Wisdom written nearly 2,000 years ago. The book Mind Meditation Being Foundation of the InsightMeditator I have read is a work written over the last few decades, which tells the experience of those who practice the metaphor. That is interesting and necessary for modern man.

I will not be a book advertiser anymore, but what I tell in this article is my factual experience and, believing on it or not depends on readers. Why we have to ask anyone to believe what we say, only those who have experienced and spent the same things can understand and accept it. In the past, the Buddha also did not force anyone to believe him, the Dharma that the Buddha preached was "at presnt, we come to see, challenge every experiment and be understood by himself." So, who am I to tell others’ believing in me. I'm just a popular storyteller, hope you collect interesting things to practice and get the benefits.

After learning the good mind, at every meditation session, I often pray from the heart before entering the main topic: "I wish all beings would escape from suffering of bodies and minds, praying for their lives in all aspects are achieved satisfactory. Next, I meditated on Master's respect. Because in the book it is clear: The first person we dispense the most effective is the ones we honor and admire, then the relatives, the ones who do not love and do not hate, and ultimately the ones who are hate. According to this method, I am very happy because the mind is gentle and I can practice the love to people around us. In fact, I have only practiced meditation for a short time, so I have not imagined the obvious benefits of this method.

Now, I start to tell the story:     

Today, I went to my mother's workplace and saw a baby crying. Beside him is his mother over thirty-year-old in  red eyes (his omther), some people were sitting outside the room with tressful faces. After the conversation, I knew that his mother took him to the pagoda to attend the retreat "I go to the Buddha" for children from 6 to 13 years old. Not knowing what the situation was, he had a conflict with a few fellow practitioners that he creamed in the lecture hall, using the broom to beat both the monks and the guard when they came to discourage. An aggressive "baby tiger" was disturbing the retreat. The monks tried to take him to the room where my mother worked, so I knew his story accidentally.

Then, I invited his mother and everyone out of the room. In this room, there were only the fourth grade boy and me, with his "little beast" can grap me any time. I came closer to him, looking at his very innocent but angry face with loving glances. I sit still like this for a few minutes without saying any word, but the mind tried to concentrate on one thing: "I wish you can escape from suffering of bodies Inand minds, pray you escape from anger, and wish you are happy”.  In ddition, a thought flashed in my head: "I wish all my paramitas having bless that can make you happy again and be peaceful. I wish gods in this place to calm your mind, make your mind cool and escape the anger. I sat up straight, breathing deeply and evenly, and my eyes fixed on the boy's face and my mind repeated the words.

After fifteen minutes, the boy's face seemed to expand. I wiped his tears on the conthus, rubbed his legs and asked:

 - At that time, I think there must be some misunderstanding. Can you tell me?

- Silent.

- When you fighted before, did you hurt somewhere? I will anele heat rub for you.

- He shook his head.

- Well, I have some cookies with milk boxes, I take them out for you to eat!

Cookies and milk boxes were still lying on the floor while he had his head down and his back against the wall.

 I was still gentle and calm, just probing, treating him as a patient watching over the open wound, without letting any harm invade. He and I sat quietly in the small room surrounded by bookcases and boxes taller than our heads, despite the fact that there were innumerable bustling sounds mixed up. I thought: "Maybe sitting here is not good", so after 10 minutes, I again began to talk:

- Sitting here is bored, so whether I take visit the back of the pagoda!

- No, thank you. Well, I'm sitting here waiting for my mother to pick up.

- What's your name?

- My name is Duc.

 - Where is your house?

…………

I think I should start actively "attack him" through the questions. Then, he started answering my questions and laughing. I took him to my office with sweet words: "Please come to visit my office because this room is lacked of oxygen.” As a result, he stood up and went with me. He began to talk:

 “I do not like to go to the pagoda but my mother asked me to come here.”

 - Why don’t you like to come here?

- The temple is very boring. My mother took me to go round the pagoda to bow down the Buddhas, so I feel tired and go home. It is not fun! I go to school all day but I am happy, but staying here in a short time is very boring and I want to go home.

I pretend to agree with his idea in order that he has more positive view:

Yes, going around to pray to Buddha is very boring. In fact, sometimes it's fun in the pagoda. Please come to play some times later. If you are bored, please come to meet me in my office. I will tell you the story or find something to play. He told me about the "accident".  So, the older practitioners looked at him with “uncomfortable face” and bullied him. Also he was not afraid of anyone, so the problem was happened.  I advise him that next time, he should tell the monks to know about problems to handle, or asked to move to another place. Don’t fight because it is not good.

 I opened my laptop and searched for a funny cartoon on YouTube. Sometimes he watched it and both of us laught together. I think everything was all right, I took him back to my mother's office and saw his mother and my mothers talking together. I let him stay there and call his mother out to talk because I was afraid of if she was not smart to solve the problem, the things I did from morning to now were destroyed.

 I say:

-Please do not cry anymore, your child is ok. Now, his psychology is not ready to continue study at the lecture hall with friends. You please take him to go home first. Let's talk normally, do not scold or mention anything before. This is a very smart boy, but extremely sensitive and brave. I think that you should have your own style to teach him, not follow the tradition of grandparents to yell or scold, hit or scream. He has just come to the pagoda, so he is very surprised, please do not force him to do anything. Sometimes on Sunday, please ask him: "Would you like to go to the pagoda to playwith the boy you met before." If he likes it, please take him to the pagoda and the monks will guide him later.

She nodded and said thanks. Namo Amitabha Buddha! She got married and has two children. Her age is also older than me while I do not have a wife and children. However, I guide her how to teach a baby! Well, the self-defense for me is: "Thanks to Buddha, I become the older. To be honest, I just want all the good things to come to him.”

She came and brought him to go home. However, he said that he wanted to stay here for a while, not want to go home while he wanted to go home before. I thought he was so hungry that I would tell her to take her son to have lunch, and please come to the pagoda when they had free time. He said that he will come to meet me in this summer. His mother said that on Sunday, if he did not go to school and had free time, she would take him to the pagoda at any time. When saying goodbye me, his smile was bright like a flower. His face looked merry and cute like an angel. He is smart and alert, I knew it when his mother asked:

 - Well, after talking to the boy, do you know what his name is?

- Yes, I know. His name is Th.

- How did you know? Did you ask him?

- No, I did not. When I came to his room, I saw his name on the computer (My name is in the account to log in the computer.)

 I was a little shocked because of his smart and intelligent. He knew my name although he just glanced less than a minute. I know that this is a very difficult child to teach.  However, his nature is very good, gentle and intelligent, so do not pressure him. He did not follow whatever other people ask, nor do someone hope to ask him to do if he does not admire.

I said goodbye to him. Once again, I used mindfulness from the heart with simple prayers: "I hope you do not suffer from your body…”. I said goodbye to them.

Two people waved to me with bright smiles. A thought flashed through my mind: "This is the third time that Master has held a retreat for the children, the first time for 300 students, the second time for more than 500 students, and this time exceeding more than1000 children.

In the future, many parents will want to bring their children to the pagoda to get acquainted with the moral environment. If we do not pay attention to and have some problems happen, the children will have a bad impression with the pagoda at the first time. Be careful and use your mind to see things from every field. If we do not handle smartly, it will be poor for young souls. At this time, instructors and suppoted students must practice mindfulness and awakeness first, during and after the retreat. A whole-hearted energy that covers the entire pagoda will bring joy to all. "In the Okkha Sutta of the Synod, the Buddha taught that thebless obtained by meditating from three times a day (morning, noon and evening). Each time is about three or four seconds that would go beyond doing charity for a hundred pots of rice three times a day. It is worth for us to pay attention.

I suddenly remembered a good story of Indaka, the author of the book mentioned the original article:

When I was in Vancouver, Canada, I visited the book store called Banyan Books. After looking through some books, I chose the books I needed. At that time, a white woman about forty-year-old passed by and quietly stood beside me. After a while, she said to me: "Please, let me stand here because my health is not good, I am very tired about my body as well as spirit.  It's been for long time I did not feel well. However, standing beside you and I am affected by your energy, I felt peace in my body and mind. "Therefore, I allowed her to stand beside me and said," You can stand here please.” While I looked at the books, she stood quietly beside me for a long time. After about an hour, I thought she was a bit confused. She folded her arms across her chest and said, "Thank you so much for the peace you gave me. I'm very happy. During my life, perhaps I  never felt this peace. After saying these words, she left. I think this happened because I have meditation from day to day. As a result, she felt the peace of both body and mind and restored her mental-physical power. In response to the power and energy of one's heart, those who contact with them will feel the peace, happiness, serenity and strength. This is absolutely nature. "(quoted from the Mindfulness Meditation Book for Insight).

These things may sound strange to those who live by the rationalist, materialist view, and does not believe in the power of mind or the power of compassion. Those who know a   little about the doctrine and who have been exposed and bowed to the elderly dignitaries will easily feel and believe this is true. The writer myself, daily contact with the master, just see him smile or to greet him once that peace of mind was great! Fortunately, I also had the good fortune to meet the great sutras such as Master Thich Pho Tue, Venerable Master Thich Thanh Tu, Venerable Thich Tri Tinh, Zen Master Kim Trieu, the Dharma Master Vien Minh, the Venerable Master Hai Trieu Am ...

It seemed that there was a source of Kindness energy around the spiritual practitioners, it made me feel happy and comfortable when I came to near them. At this point, I remembered the image of the Buudha using kindness to entice the drunk elephant, Angulimala, or the robbers hired by Najib to kill thye Buddha. Oh! The energy of compassion was hard to imagine, but it was not created natural that we had to cultivate and practice over time.

I slowly walked down the abstinence hall looking at the little angels to eat silently. Monks and Buddhists were standing by to support any situation. Suddenly, I smiled, an unbelievable joy was in my heart: “I wish all beings escape from suffering of bodies and minds, pray for their lives in all aspects are achieved satisfactory.

 Vô danh

 Translated into English by Huynh Thi Khanh Phung