Saturday, 04/18/2026
One-Day Retreat
Update: 25/09/2017
After breakfast, Buddhists came to lecturing halls to listen to the Dharma talk from Venerable Thich Tam Dao, Deputy Abbot of Hoang Phap Pagoda, over the topic of suffering in more than an hour.
According to Buddha's teachings, there are 3 kinds and eight forms of suffering affecting to our mentality and physicality.
Three kinds of mental suffering include:
1. The suffering of suffering: this is the kind of consecutive sufferings that we’re all familiar with such as the pain of birth, old age, sickness and death.
2. The suffering of change: when we do get what we want, we cannot hold onto it. When thing does change, what was previously a pleasurable experience becomes a source of suffering. Changing makes sentient beings feel unstable and unhappy.
3. All-pervasive suffering: things are not fixed but subject to change under the effect of impermanent rule in every moment; causing anxiety and unstableness to sentient beings.
Eight forms of suffering include:
· The suffering of birth
· The suffering of old age
· The suffering of illness
· The suffering of death
· The suffering of encountering what is unpleasant
· The suffering of separation from what is pleasant
· The suffering of not getting what one wants
· The suffering of the five appropriated aggregates
1. The suffering of birth occurs in life of beings from the stage in mother’s womb to death. Child in the womb experiences misery of darkness and sultriness. Every mood/consumption of pregnant woman takes effect onto the fetus.
2. The suffering of old age with aging/ damaging process as losing teeth, wrinkles, unfunctional organs. Elderliness gets rid of health, appetite, good sleep and will from sound body. The elderly has to face with illness and death.
3. The suffering of illness: This is the obvious misery that everyone can understand via own experience or that of patients with serious illness in hospitals.
4. The suffering of death: Life cycle with birth-aging-sickness-death is the eternal rule, in which death is the most frightening event. When dying, the body is numb, the spirit is frightened and shocked facing with strange mood without any know-how to cope with. Dying people have to part forever from their beloved ones while do not know where to go in the nothingness. It is really a great misery.
5. The suffering of separation from what are pleasant as happy family, beloved ones.
6. The suffering of not getting what one wants: everyone wants best friends, nice spouse, dutiful kids, great house, and good fame/position. When things cannot come true, they may feel terribly frustrated or hopeless.
7. The suffering of encountering unpleasantness or opponent(s) that bring unhappy/bitter feelings as if there were thorn in one’s side.
8. The suffering of the five appropriated aggregates (pañca-khandha) which are impermanent and go against one’s desire. Due to ignorance that people misunderstand impermanent things permanent, their belongings theirs while they are not. Such mistakenness causes misery.
Saha is the realm of suffering that leads to the renouncement of Buddha. He taught beings three kinds and eight forms of suffering so that they can learn and practice to attain liberation. It is necessary for us to realize that this body is formed based on compounded conditions that are impermanent and selfless. We need to practice to get real freedom.
After the lecturing, the course kept on with Buddha’s name recitation as usual.
In the afternoon, after reciting Buddha's name, it was the courses of precept statement and practicing sit meditation.
Following are recorded photographs:
BBT Website