Fourth day of the 99th Seven-Day Retreat

In the morning, the core of the Ksitigarbha Sutra, part 2

On April 12th, 2023 in the fourth day of the 99th Seven-Day Retreat; Junior Thich Dao Quang, the Lecturer at Buddhism elementary schools in and out of the city, came to main hall 1 of Dharma Wheel Building to have a dharma talk named The core of the Ksitigarbha Sutra, part 2: Consider and Overview.

During the 98th Seven-Day Retreat, the Venerable shared "The Core of Ksitigarbha Sutra", Part 1: Comments before studying the Sutra. Website Editorial Board would like to briefly recap the lecture’s main content in the previous part, we have heard:

1) Was the Ksitigarbha Sutra preached by the Buddha?

2) Is there hell?

During this session, the Venerable continued to talk:

3) Is this Sutra to recite for the dead?

The answer is “No!”

This sutra educates the living people, but is mostly recited at funerals and requiem. This leads to the misconception the sutra is recited for the dead, a misconception that most people have. Because of the means and conditions that the Patriarchs and predecessors chanted at the funeral to teach their children, grandchildren in the family understand, learn and practice the bodhisattva's pious mind, pious actions, and pious ethics.

Buddhist followers need to have wisdom, correct understanding and true faith in order not to be wronged, make correct judgments, and avoid taking the wrong path. Reading the Mahayana sutras, we need to understand the reason behind the sutras in order to practice properly, not in the simple sense that it will be easily misunderstood and misguided. The practice should always be gentle, should not be restrictive, rejecting other methods and scriptures when we do not have true understanding.

After reciting the Buddha's name in the morning, the mass relaxed and enjoyed the music with the sweet voice of reformed artist Ho Minh Duong with extracts from songs about the mother.

Afternoon, a Dharma talk named The early moon of the month - The last moon of the month.

Continuing the cultivation at 14:00, Most Master Thich Chan Tinh of Hoang Phap Pagoda came to main Hall 1 of Dharma Wheel Building to give health regards and praise the mass ‘practice, at the same time, he had dharma words with the topic named Early moon of the month - last moon of the month.

In the Moon sutra - The Samyuktagama, the Master taught:

 1. The good man is like the early moon of the month: bright colors, day and night get brighter and brighter, until the moon is full and completely full; that good man toward the Tathagata's teachings had pure faith:

- Belief in Buddha: Buddha is a historical character, great wisdom recorded in history.

- Faith in the Dharma: the teaching of the Buddha is the boat that ships sentient beings out of suffering, from delusion to enlightenment.

- Belief in Sangha: is a union of people who give up five desires and live a life of awareness and purity. An individual is just a representative, we should not lose faith in the Sangha because of one person doing something wrong. Individuals who do wrong will have its corresponding retribution.

- Keeping precepts, purifying three karmas of body - speech - mind, being close to the good one, listening to Dharma to understand the truth that life is impermanent, suffering, and not-self. All sufferings, not understanding the Buddhadharma, not knowing how to practice is the greatest suffering, causing sentient beings to drift in samsara, suffering for innumerable kalpas. Therefore, Buddhists must try diligently to listen to Dharma, study sutras to have the right view, Four Noble Truths (the truth about suffering, its causes, the cessation of suffering, and eight ways leading to the fruition of happiness and deliverance). Indeed, each person should think righteously, do good deeds, speak good words, and think kindly thoughts; Thanks to these causes, when the body leaving the world will be reborn in a happy realm after death.

2. The unwholesome man is like the moon at the end of the month: the light disappears, the color fades, the day and night decreases until it no longer appears. In the same way, a person who lives in accordance with the Tathagata's teachings but has quiet faith, receives the pure precepts, learns well, listens a lot, gives alms, has true views, but later refuse, has pure faith in the Tathagata, keep precepts, giving, hearing much, right view and truth are all lost; more and more diminishing, not getting close to the good one, not often listening to Dharma, not thinking righteously, doing evil in the body, speaking evil in the mouth, and thinking evil thoughts; because of these evil causes and conditions when the body leaving world will fall into the evil path, hell.

Some images recorded: