Tu Viện Quảng Đức105 Lynch Rd, Fawkner, Vic 3060. Australia. Tel: 9357 3544. quangduc@quangduc.com* Viện Chủ: HT Tâm Phương, Trụ Trì: TT Nguyên Tạng   

Death and No Death (By Ven. Shih Jingang)

03/05/202117:44(Xem: 12398)
Death and No Death (By Ven. Shih Jingang)

vong luan hoi

DEATH, NO-DEATH

By Ven. Shih Jingang

 

One day, Little Pebble went to his teacher, and said, ‘Master, my friend’s dog Tiger died.’

    The look on Little Pebble’s face told the old monk that he was troubled. ‘Little one, do you have any questions?’

    ‘Master, where did Tiger go?’

    ‘Where did you come from?’ asked the old monk.

    ‘From my mummy’s tummy.’

    ‘And where did Mummy come from?’

     Little Pebble couldn’t think of an answer.

    The Master regarded his young disciple for a moment, then said, ‘Remember, when you made shapes with mud and named them Mummy, Daddy, Master?’

                                                                                                 2

 

      Little Pebble nodded.

  ‘Remember,’ said the Master, ‘that you, me, Mummy, Daddy, and all sentient beings have the same essence, called Buddha-nature. Well, that does not die. But other things that are impermanent do die.’

    ‘Why?’ asked Little Pebble.

    The old monk smiled, and said, ‘See, all things born and created eventually die. Our bodies of skin and bone, the things we make, and even thoughts, are constantly changing and eventually die.  The body of the dog named Tiger died and went back to the earth to help the trees, insects, animals and us live. So when you walk on the earth, eat a piece of fruit off a tree, see a beautiful flower, know that everything you see and touch is Tiger and all beings, even you. Understand?’

   ‘Tiger is me,’ said Little Pebble. ‘Tiger is Master, Mummy and Daddy, all things. Tiger did not die.’

   ‘You say Tiger did not die,’ responded the Master. ‘Can you pat this Tiger, or take him for a walk?’

    ‘No,’ reacted Little Pebble with a giggle.

    The old monk regarded his young disciple for a moment, then said, ‘If there is no dog, no name, no “thing” that you can see or touch, what is left?’

    ‘The Buddha,’ replied Little Pebble.

   ‘I see your Buddha’s body is long dead,’ said the Master. ‘What is left?’

     But Little Pebble could not answer.

                                                                                                 3

 

 

   The old monk smiled, and said, ‘The Buddha you have heard of was born, lived in a body like yours, and that body grew old and sick, eventually dying. But the Buddha-nature did not die. Why? Because it is unborn, uncreated, and cannot die.  You, me, all sentient beings have Buddha-nature. So little one, there is death, and no-death. Do you understand?’

      Little Pebble nodded.

    ‘And where did Tiger go?’ asked the Master.

  ‘Woof, woof!’ Little Pebble exclaimed, and they both laughed.

 

 

 

From the book, A Sparrow Splashing, by Shih Jingang.

Published by Ginninderra Press.

 




niem phat duong duc son (104)

Ven Nguyen Tang & Ven Shil Jingang at Duc Son Buddhist Center, Bothwell, Tasmania (24/5/2021)




***
youtube


Gửi ý kiến của bạn
Tắt
Telex
VNI
Tên của bạn
Email của bạn
14/10/2023(Xem: 2649)
On a summer afternoon in 2023, on the Kandy plateau in Sri Lanka, renowned for its veneration of the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha, on the lush green grounds of the University of Peradeniya, Kandy, the Departments of Education and Buddhist Studies held a Buddhist Seminar on July 14, 2023, with the patronage of Maha Mahinda International Dharmadutha Society, Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Huong Sen Buddhist Temple, California, USA.
25/07/2023(Xem: 4940)
Dealing with the chosen work, I observe that a puggala has been present in the world because of dependent origination (paṭiccasamuppāda) or continuity of change (santāna). The five masses of elements (pañcakkhandhā), which constitute the puggala and the world around him, are without any substance (anattā), impermanent (anicca) and they are really causes of grief (dukkha)...
23/09/2021(Xem: 8279)
Kính mời quý Phật tử xem thông báo này của Moreland City Council (nhân viên council vừa đến chùa nhờ thông báo), nếu quý vị chưa chích Covid-19 vaccine xin liên lạc booking số: 1800 675 398 và đến Fawkner Community Hall, 79 Jukes Rd, Fawkner (cách Tu Viện Quảng Đức một con đường, 5 phút đi bộ) vào các ngày 27, 28 và 29 tháng 9 năm 2021 để được chích vaccine. Từ 12 tuổi đến 60 tuổi sẽ được chích Pfizer; từ 60 tuổi trở lên sẽ được chích AstraZeneca. Cầu nguyện đại dịch sớm tận trừ và mọi người vui khỏe và bình an. Nay xin thông báo, Thích Nguyên Tạng Trụ Trì Tu Viện Quảng Đức 🙏🙏🙏🌹🥀🌷🌷🌸🏵️🌻🌼🍁🌺🍀🌹🥀🌷🌸🏵️
14/03/2020(Xem: 24286)
The Book was first published in 1942. The present edition has been revised and expanded. Though primarily intended for the students and beginners rather than scholars, the reader will find it an extremely valuable handbook, offering a sound foundation to the basic tenets of Buddhism as found in its original Pali tradition.
15/12/2019(Xem: 17585)
INTRODUCTION "WITHIN A TREE, THERE IS A FLOWER WITHIN A ROCK, THERE IS A FLAME" BY SENIOR VENERABLE THICH NGUYEN TANG, QUANG DUC MONASTERY MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. "...The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts; the taste of the Dhamma excels all tastes, and delight in the Dhamma excels all delights. The eradication of craving (i.e., attainment of arahatship) overcomes all ills (samsara dukkha). The gift of the Dhamma is the greatest giving among the all other givings. The one who is well trained in the Dhamma will share his understanding of the Dhamma either by writing a book, by preaching Dhamma, by discussing Dhamma, or by writing an article. Master Thich Nguyen Tang has used all these methods in his contribution to the Dhamma. Giving food or clothes or any other material items to a person makes them happy and they indeed will survive in the world, but they cannot get rid of this terrible circle of birth and death. It can be done only by understanding the noble Dhamma. Thus, the wr
09/09/2019(Xem: 12548)
A yellow-colored Buddhist temple adorned with flags and golden dragons on its pointed roofs in a quiet town outside Tokyo presents a stark contrast to the typically somber-looking Buddhist places of worship usually found in rural Japan. But the steady stream of out-of-town weekend visitors and their nationality also set it apart, for the temple was built by and serves members of the large Vietnamese community in the Tokyo metropolitan area.
09/08/2019(Xem: 12713)
Life as historically manifested is twofold, individuals and communities as well. The teachings of the Buddha are meant as much for the building of an order of communities as for the harmonious ordering of an individual’s personal life. In addition, Buddhism is concerned with the cessation of suffering, it must necessarily teach the way to the cessation of social suffering no less than the suffering of each individual. It is precisely to mention of forgiveness and reconciliation.
09/08/2019(Xem: 10985)
‘Dukkha and The Cessation of Dukkha’ are the heart of the Buddha’s teaching which are expounded in the Dhammacakka-ppavattana-suttaṃ(Setting in Motion the Wheel of Truth).[2] ‘Idaṁ dukkhaṁ ariyasaccaṁ’ pariññeyyan-ti ‘this is the noble truth of suffering’ refers (i.e. suffering itself) ought to be fully known.[3]
facebook youtube google-plus linkedin twitter blog
Nguyện đem công đức này, trang nghiêm Phật Tịnh Độ, trên đền bốn ơn nặng, dưới cứu khổ ba đường,
nếu có người thấy nghe, đều phát lòng Bồ Đề, hết một báo thân này, sinh qua cõi Cực Lạc.

May the Merit and virtue,accrued from this work, adorn the Buddhas pureland,
Repay the four great kindnesses above, andrelieve the suffering of those on the three paths below,
may those who see or hear of these efforts generates Bodhi Mind, spend their lives devoted to the Buddha Dharma,
the Land of Ultimate Bliss.

Quang Duc Buddhist Welfare Association of Victoria
Tu Viện Quảng Đức | Quang Duc Monastery
Most Venerable Thich Tam Phuong | Senior Venerable Thich Nguyen Tang
Address: Quang Duc Monastery, 105 Lynch Road, Fawkner, Vic.3060 Australia
Tel: 61.03.9357 3544 ; Fax: 61.03.9357 3600
Website: http://www.quangduc.com
http://www.tuvienquangduc.com.au (old)
Xin gửi Xin gửi bài mới và ý kiến đóng góp đến Ban Biên Tập qua địa chỉ:
quangduc@quangduc.com