What is the meaning of “Cultivation”?

Question: What is the meaning of “Cultivation?”

“Cultivation” in Buddhism is the amending three behaviors of a person better, which is body (action), mouth (speech), and thought (thinking). The most important one is the amending of the “mouth”. Before, we say or do what we think about without caring about the law of causes and effects; or without controlling to be better. Currently, thank to religious teachings, every time we want to speak or do anythings, we think carefully about its results - whether it is helpful for ourselves or benefit for others in order to reach the enlightenment goal.

Besides that, cultivating is also essential. During the whole day, there are numberless thoughts happening which always break the principles onto five desires, six sensible organs. At present, cultivating is controlling our thought suitable for moral standards. It is the application and study ways of awareness methods about the mind’s and body’s truth. In addition, we should practice reciting the Buddha’s name on breaths - in with “Amita”, and out with “Buddha”. Meditative sitting helps to collect officious thoughts to one point so that wisdom will enlighten the truth, end the whole of ignorance. 

Cultivation practice is to correct the three karmas. Cultivating is not a simple meaning of going to pagoda to burn incense, offer things, and chant sutras, etc, because those are the forms. The truth is to supervise our mind, modify three behaviours better. The cultivator is different from common people who pursue fortune, beauty, fame, position, foods and drinking, sleep, many other material temptations, etc, the cultivators satisfy with the spirit life of less desires, knowing enough in order to save time training our dim mind, realizing our bright mind. It is called he difference from material aspects.

 

Moreover, cultivated practice means conquering our inner mind, such as the greed, hatred, delusion, or seven kinds of feelings including pleasure, anger, love, fear, like, dislike and wish which are called seven emotions making trouble in mind. Those officious ones must be collected, limited, conquered so that they can change cruel things, become the good ones, change dreams into reality, change delusions into enlightenment on each moment of daily life. Those will support personality, ethics to be advanced to the complete level. It is the valuable and practical cultivation.