From: tran@neep.engr.wisc.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese
Subject: [REL] Gia'o ly' DDa.o Pha^.t
Date: 8 Sep 92 15:15:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Sep8.151507.288
Reply-To: tran@neep.engr.wisc.edu
Organization: SCV Relay
Originator: daemon@media-lab.media.mit.edu


Tha^n gu+?i ba.n Thomas Nguyen,
     Nhu+~ng ca^u ho?i cu?a ba.n ve^` PG dda~ ddu+o+.c gia?i dda'p mo^.t pha^`n
(Vu L. Pham).  Nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i hie^?u la^`m PG kho^ng pha?i la` i't, ke^? ca?
mo^.t so^' ho.c gia? chuye^n ve^` PG no^?i tie^'ng tre^n hoa`n ca^`u.  Ly' do
ra^'t gia?n di.: gia'o ly' PG kho^ng pha?i dde^? ba`n lua^.n mo^.t ca'ch thua^`n tri' thu+'c (thua^.t ngu+~ PG go.i la` hy' lua^.n) ma` la` dde^? tu ta^.p,ha`nh
tri`, chu+'ng nghie^.m va`o chi'nh ba?n tha^n.  PG tu+o+ng tu+. nhu+ 1 bo^ng hoa
nhie^`u ca'nh, mo^~i ca'nh co' 1 ve? dde.p rie^ng, nhu+ng ta kho^ng ne^n la^`m
mo^.t ca'nh hoa la` ca? bo^ng hoa.  To^i ra^'t hoan nghe^nh tinh tha^`n ro^.ng ra~i cu?a ba.n, kho^ng criticize, mock, hay verbally attack, nhu+ng ba.n ne^n 
hie^?u ra(`ng du` ba.n co' la`m nhu+~ng ddie^`u tre^n thi` PG cu~ng kho^ng co'
pha?n u+'ng vi` PG co' the^? coi nhu+ 1 ta^'m gu+o+ng soi, cha^'p nha^.n va` pha?n chie^'u ta^'t ca? nhu+~ng gi` qua tru+o+'c no' ma` kho^ng giu+~ la.i gi`,
hoa(.c nhu+ bie^?n ca?, tha?n nhie^n cha^'p nha^.n ta^'t ca? nhu+~ng gi` ddo^?
va`o bie^?n ma` kho^ng he^` pha`n na`n, bo+?i vi` ta^'t ca? dde^`u se~ bie^'n the^? dde^? ho`a ddo^`ng va`o nu+o+'c dda.i du+o+ng.
     Trong gia'o ly' PG kho^ng co' cho^~ na`o ba('t buo^.c pha^.t-tu+? pha?i
su`ng ba'i, ta.c tu+o+.ng, tha('p nhang v..v.. tho+` Pha^.t ca?.  Ngu+o+`i ta
ta.c tu+o+.ng tho+` Pha^.t va` le^~ Pha^.t dde^? nho+' o+n Ngu+o+`i dda~ ti`m ra va` dde^? la.i cho ha^.u the^' mo^.t ly' tu+o+?ng cao dde.p, dda^`y tu+` bi ba'c a'i, va` nha^'t la` dde^? tu+. nha('c nho+? ra(`ng con ngu+o+`i ai ai cu~ng
co' Pha^.t ta'nh nghi~a la` kha? na(ng gia'c ngo^., dda^y cu~ng la` mo^.t y' nghi~a cu?a ca^u "Pha^.t ta.i ta^m".  Le^~ Pha^.t co' nhie^`u y' nghi~a, tuy` theo
tri`nh ddo^. hie^?u bie^'t cu?a ngu+o+`i le^~, nhu+ng tuye^.t nhie^n kho^ng
pha?i la` le^~ 1 vi. tha^`n linh toa`n na(ng nu'p sau 1 bu+'c tu+o+.ng ba(`ng
ddo^`ng, dda^'t se't, hay go^~ v..v...  Tu+o+.ng Pha^.t kho^ng pha?i la` 1 va^.t
thie^ng lie^ng chi? dde^? tho+` phu.ng 1 ca'ch so+. se^.t.  Nga`y xu+a co' 1
vi. cao Ta(ng khi la.nh va` kho^ng kie^'m dda^u ra cu?i dda~ tha?n nhie^n che?
tu+o+.ng Pha^.t ra dde^? la^'y cu?i su+o+?i a^'m, 1 ha`nh ddo^.ng "Kho^ng
tu+o+?ng" trong ca'c to^n gia'o kha'c, ma` kho^ng he^` co' ma(.c ca?m to^.i
lo^~i hay ba^'t ki'nh ddo^'i vo+'i Pha^.t. To^i kho^ng co' y' ddi.nh "truye^`n
gia'o" cho ne^n kho^ng vie^'t nhie^`u ho+n ve^` PG.  Tuy nhie^n to^i xin tri'ch
da^~n sau dda^y nha^.n xe't ve^` PG cu?a va`i nha^n va^.t "ngoa.i dda.o" kha'
no^?i tie^'ng hi vo.ng gia?i dda'p pha^`n na`o nhu+~ng tha('c ma('c cu?a ba.n:

Ref: John Walters, The Essence of Buddhism, Apollo Editions (1964), New York.

   1. The great British scientist Thomas Huxley said: "Buddhism is a system which knows no God in the western sense, which denies a soul to man and counts the belief in immortality a blunder, which refuses any efficacy to prayer and
sacrifice, which bids men to look to nothing but their own efforts for salvation
which in its original purity knew nothing of the vows of obedience and never sought the aid of the secular arm, yet spread over a considerable portion of the the world with marvellous rapidity, and is still the dominant creed of a large
fraction of mankind."
   2. Professor Carl Jung, an outstanding psychologist, wrote that: "as a student of comparative religion, I believe that Buddhism is the most perfect one of
the world.  The philosophy of the Buddha, the theory of evolution and the law
of Karma (ddi.nh lua^.t nghie^.p ba'o) were far superior to any other creed."
   3. The great Pali scholar Dr. Rhys Davids was the son of a clergyman.  He
started translating the Buddhist scriptures into English with the plan of proving that Christianity was very superior to Buddhism.  Instead Dr. Rhys Davids
became a convinced Buddhist and testified: "I have examined every one of the
great religions of the world, and in none of them have I found anything to
surpass the beauty and comprehensiveness of the Four Noble Truths (Tu+' Die^.u
DDe^') of the Buddha."
   4. Edward Conze, one of the greatest Buddhist scholars and translators, has
said: "Although one may originally be attracted by its remotrness, one can
appreciate the real value of Buddhism only when one judges it by the result it
produces in one's own life from day to day."
   5. Professor Maxwell Sommerville, University of Pensylvania, wrote: "The
paramount principles pervading the entire system of the Buddhist religion are
self-abnegation, meditation and obedience to a code which any Christian might
endorse: a code of morals which, if strictly observed in Christian countries,
would elevate society to a higher standard than has been reached under all our
boasted religious culture.  That code is a garden of spiritual flowers whose
odor is the beauty of holiness, and from which we will cull only so many as
will give a fair idea of the chaste, honest, ennobling sentiments which are,
and have been for centuries, distilled into the hearts and minds of a people
(Tha'i Lan) whom American Christians designate as heathen."

     To^i nghi~ ba^'y nhie^u ke^? cu~ng ta.m ddu?.  Enjoy.

PS. Tha^n cha`o ta^'t ca? ca'c netters tre^n SCV,
    To^i mo+'i ddo.c SCV ga^`n dda^y va` nha^.n tha^'y co' 1 so^' ba`i lo+`i
le~ kho^ng thi'ch ho+.p vo+'i to^n chi? va` mu.c ddi'ch cu?a SCV.  SCV la`
die^~n dda`n dde^? chu'ng ta ho.c ho?i la^~n nhau. Ngu+o+`i VN pha^n bie^.t
ro~ ra`ng ngu+o+`i co' ho.c va` ngu+o+`i co' gia'o du.c.  Ngu+o+`i co' ho.c
chu+a ha(?n la` ngu+o+`i co' gia'o du.c va` ngu+o+.c la.i.  Theo truye^`n
tho^'ng VN thi` nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i co' gia'o du.c, du` i't ho.c, va^~n ddu+o+.c
tro.ng ho+n nhu+~ng ngu+o+`i co' ho.c ma` kho^ng co' ha.nh.  Do ddo',nhu+~ng
ngu+o+`i co' ba(`ng ca^'p cao, tha`nh co^ng o+? ngoa`i ddo+`i, co' ddi.a vi.,
nhie^`u tie^`n v..v.. chi? la` ddie^`u kie^.n ca^`n chu+' chu+a pha?i la`
ddie^`u kie^.n ddu? dde^? ddu+o+.c mo.i ngu+o+`i coi tro.ng. Ngu+o+`i VN
cu~ng thu+o+`ng no'i: xem va(n bie^'t ngu+o+`i, co' le~ chu'ng ta ne^n tha^.n
tro.ng khi vie^'t tre^n SCV.  Mong va^.y thay.

                                                   Chu'c Tro.ng Nga^n
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