Animal human and saint sách tiếng anh dạy làm người.

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ANIMAL, HUMAN AND SAINT

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In terms of karma and virtue, there are three forms of beings: Animal, Human and Saint

"Animal" is a lower tier than human, "Human" is ourselves, and "Saints" are holy people When we compare these three forms of beings, we know that we will take the path of Saint, not the path of Animal

There are number of criterias to clearly identify the difference between

"Animal", "Human" and "Saint" Based on these criterias, we will see the danger very clearly If we're not careful, we will be easily reborn into the Animal realm Looking at a couple aspects, we see that animals usually live by an instinct that is programmed in their brains For example, salmons and sardines start living their lives in the riverbed After the eggs hatch, they swim out to the sea But one day, they follow a call from their sub-consciousness and swim back to the riverbed where they were born to spawn and die there

The first standard requirement to differentiate between “Animal”,

“Human”, and “Saint”

For example: dogs We do not know the real reason, but their instinct is to

be loyal to their owners, even if the owner is abnormal There's a story about a vicious dog Its owner was a drinker He did not care or love the dog He only raised the dog because he used the dog to herd the sheep But one day, he went away, and the dog wandered thousands of miles to search for him even though there was nothing special about him He was just a gambler and a drunkard But the dog is “pre-programmed” to be loyal to its master, so it just acted out of instinct

Monkeys are programmed to imitate, especially human actions Humans also imitate, but the imitation of monkeys is very primitive, because it's an instinct that is pre-programmed in their brains The instinct of Bees is to find honey to make nests That is also an available instinctual program

That is about "Animal"

However, there are intelligent exotic animals But most animals behave instinctually by the pre-installed program based on their karma For example, tigers are strong, agile, fierce and cunning, because they have evil karma But, they also have some blessings which makes everybody fear them

Or the snakes with a long body, no arms, no legs, a head with fangs and venom They do not need to bite anyone but they make us scared when we see them Why? This is because in a past life, they wanted other people to be afraid

of them They thought that being strong and fierce would make them winners They wanted to show their powers Unfortunately, they did not know that making people fear them caused them to be reborn as snakes so that people would fear them

Or dogs who are instinctually loyal, and to become a dog has multiple reasons One reason could be that a person committed a sinful act and was reborn

as an animal But because he is a loyal person, he is reborn as a dog with loyal instincts to pay for his bad karma And at the same time, he retains his loyalty value so someday he will be reborn as a good human again

Or domesticated horses who always enjoy having someone riding on their back But wild forest horses don't like this Domesticated horses like to be ridden

by humans This is because of a debt in the past They are those who were in debt, but they did not have money to pay And, they blurted out, "I can't pay your debt in this life, I pray that in my next life I will be a horse or a cow so I can slave for you as payment." Because of this saying, they are reborn to be wise and loyal horses, and they're very excited to be ridden to pay off the old karma So the domesticated horse enjoys it when its owner rides on its back

That is about animal instincts The instincts are based on past karma And

it is not just created by nature

For human beings, we are based on two factors: a natural factor, and an environmental and educational factor What is a natural factor? That is the good

or bad personality or character available when we are born Intuitive people can look at a baby and tell if the baby will have a good or mean personality, a good temper or hot temper, intelligent or stupid They even know if the child will later succeed or not Natural factor means that the program has been pre-installed in the baby But, a human has more freedom than an animal We can think and choose what to do or say during our lifetime

The second factor is environmental and educational If we live with many good people, they will create good impressions and a good environment which will ingrain in our mind, and we will gradually be transformed and will follow a better path in life

For example, a naughty and stubborn child was born in a good family, and lives with gentle people who talk and behave gracefully If his scale of badness was at a ten, it would gradually shrink to a four So, our living environment and education has a strong influence But to be reborn in a good or bad environment depends on the karma of the past

In the past life, a gentle family was bullied over disputed lands Suddenly, a thug protected them, and they didn't lose their lands That family has owed him since then After maybe ten lives, the thug was reborn into that family Everyone

in that family is very kind, but the child is a rascal Since everyone in the family is gentle and tender, the child’s mischievous personality slowly reduced by six from ten The remaining four gives strangers an impression that he is rascal compared

to the rest of the people in the family, but they do not know that his bad personality has been reduced by more than half

Or a gentle person was born into a violent family, living with bad people His perfect ten personality was slowly reduced by six, because he was born in a violent and troubled family, and he will gradually become a bad person The reason why? This is because in a past life, he owed this family So, he must be reborn and live with them to pay back the debt, etc

Just like us, when we practice the Buddha's teachings, we try to create much merit, purify our mind through meditation, recite Buddhism sutras and pay respect

to our Saints, and accumulate good deeds, so we will be reborn in heaven after death Because we've just been reborn in heaven, our mind is not as pure as those who been in heaven for a long time For those who have been in heaven for a while they have a pure mind, and can know each other just by initiating a thought

So, no one thinks about anything bad, and we should keep our mind pure like them while living here on earth

Because of this second factor, many educators and many sages appear in this life hoping to transform humans to become holy Without education, people will gradually become evil This's very dangerous So, we must be grateful for the saints who appeared and created a good environment for us to live in

If each of us acknowledge the truth about life, be truthful with ourselves and with each other, we must recognize that we have made a lot of mistakes However, we are joining a sacred festival, living in Buddha's arms, and share a warm and loving atmosphere, we should let go or forget about our guilts We just

want to love everybody, be mindful on Buddha and do not be annoyed with the crowds, hardships, poor sleep conditions, and windy environment What do we do

if someone sleeping next to us puts his/her legs on us when he/she is sleeping? Normally we would get annoyed, but in this sacred festival, we’ll be more patient

We would lift those legs and not wake up the sleeper or move somewhere else where we can find quietness and continue to rest And when we are not angry, we'll feel love, happiness and serenity

In an ethical environment, we love one another, not hate one another, life is peaceful and serene This environment will increase happiness in our hearts, helping us to mature in Dhamma If we're in another environment, such as on a train, we will be afraid of being robbed, and so we can't feel peaceful and happy But in a religious environment it is different We are more patient because we have dharma and Buddha’s teaching and protection, so we can continue to cultivate

So, a good environment is very beneficial Thanks to the Buddha’s dharma

we have stopped many wrong doings, and created peaceful cultivation environments This promises us that after death we won't be reborn in a miserable place If we aren't reborn into an extremely happy realm, we will certainly be reborn into good living realms where we can be satisfied with our cultivation Thus, we need to grateful Buddhas, nuns and monks

So, what's our duty? That is: we have to create an ethical environment for future generations

Currently, we are living in an ethical environment due to the work of many regions around us When we go home, back to our villages, we also have to create such an environment for the children We vowed to love all beings following Buddha's teachings So, we will love our neighbor's children as our children And

we will try to set ethical and moral examples for children to imitate We will help them to live in the aura of the Buddha and becoming good people By doing this,

we will create a good environment for the children, and our merit will be great

So, we say that "Animals" live on instinct "Humans" live half on instinct and half on education What about the “Saints”?

“Saint” means that he can control his soul, not living on natural instinct However, there are four levels of sainthood in Buddhism The first is

Srota-Apanna, the second is Sakrdagamin, the third is Anagamin, and the last is Arhat Buddhas and Arhats are no longer governed by reincarnation

For each of the four levels of Saints, the higher the level, the more powerful the supernatural ability All Saints have a pure soul and they are capable of controlling themselves not to do wrong, and to not live on instincts The first level

of Sainthood, Srota-Apanna, is the hardest to reach Why is that? It is because at this level, the Saints are aware of goods and bads Because of past karma, they must struggle with their circumstances and with themselves extremely hard Although Srota-Apanna goes through hardship and struggles, they have great souls

to start with, and are gentle Srota-Apanna does not have supernatural powers as

we think but has mindfully followed Buddha's teachings, cultivation and enlightenment Those who have not reached Srota-Apanna level, can switch paths often They can be easily persuaded by either good or bad people, and they follow

a good path if they are persuaded by good people or bad path if they are persuaded

by bad people Saints who reach Srota-Apanna level are different than laymen, although they are not very powerful, they cannot be persuaded to follow anything other than ethical and good deeds

We have distinguished that "Animals" are driven by instincts, "Humans" are driven by both instincts, educational and environmental, and "Saints" are driven by self-governed power and wisdom

The second standard is desires and feelings

"Animals" live on instinct They act and behave as they feel like it, and do not think about right or wrong For example, except for well trained dogs, dogs eat whatever people give them Stray or wild dogs often bite each other to protect their food They do anything to satisfy their desire without thinking Humans think, evaluate and contemplate our actions We evaluate our actions based on the law, ethics, morals, responsibilities, circumstances, and sins or merits For example, when there is food on the table, “Animals” will dive right in and eat, but humans will consider how many people will need to eat, or we can eat it or who can not We always consider thoroughly before we commit our actions

Or when it comes to affection or reproduction, animals mate wildly, except those that are programmed to be loyal The males and females will live together

for their entire life This is also determined by their karma But most animals act and behave on instinct So, after testing DNA of some species such as apes and monkeys, scientists discovered that their children haven't got the same DNA It means they mate with many different males or females

Humans are different We are bound by law, morals and ethics So, we have to consider our actions before enjoying the desire of “flesh” and not just following our instinct That is the difference between "Human" and "Animal"

The Saints don't have any pleasure and desires Based on pleasure and desire, we know whether we're going to be reborn in the “Animal” realms or

“Saint” realms For those who are inclined to enjoy pleasure and fulfill their desires, we know that they're going to be reborn in the “Animal” realms, even if they have many blessing For example, they have a lot of money, and they use it

to do anything which makes them happy and pleased Because they had money and they enjoy life the way they desire, they are heading towards the “Animal” path They are planting the “seed” of becoming an animal because only animals enjoy life despite consequences For those who always think carefully about the consequences of their actions and what they should or should not do, they will continue to be reborn in Human realms after death

For those who forgo pleasure and desires, but instead focus on cultivation and practice religious life, they will be on the path of sainthood We are judging this based on their pattern of behavior The things that people enjoy, or animals incline to, the Saints feel trapped or restricted This is a very strange difference! Just look at this, we will know if a person has the wisdom to cultivate or not Those who enjoy life with a strong heart will enjoy all joy despite the consequences Let’s make up a game to find out Those who have strong desire for pleasure will gravitate towards it and we’ll know that they will head towards the “Animal” realms If we invite them to attend a party, they will agree without thinking or considering They are going towards the "Animal" path But if they think about it or consider it before accepting the invitation, they are heading towards the Human realms Because Humans think and evaluate before we make

a decision And those who refuse to enjoy casual pleasure and spend more time in cultivation in Buddha's arms, or consider everything carefully before doing; they are going toward the "Saint" path

The third standard of judgment is based on tame and vicious

For animals, we roughly divide them into two types: tame and vicious The tame animals, like oxen, rabbits and birds eat grass, vegetables, and small insects The vicious animals, like tigers, panthers, and lions, violently hunt for prey They rip their prey violently apart It’s very painfully to look at

But animals are programmed to follow their instinct There is not much we can do The tame animals, which don't harm any other creatures, once they pay off their karma, will be reborn to the Human realm

Humans are similar Some are gentle, and some are cruel Many people are very cruel, they can hit, kill, harm or deceive others But there are also people who always love, serve, help others In this world of animals, the cruel beasts are always cruel, the gentle beasts are always gentle But humans are both gentle and cruel, sometimes we are gentle and sometimes we are cruel A gentle person can also become a cruel person This makes lots of people surprised when choosing a mate or lover

For example, a guy feel in love with a gentle, cute girl, and got married with her After they got married, he found out that the sweet woman was actually mean and cruel If the husband questions her, she would say, “I had to be nice then in order to be married to you.” Or a girl got married with a gentle and brave husband After a few years, he became a playboy People can change easily But, it's very easy to change from good to bad, and it's very difficult to change from bad to good That is the reason why humans tend to fall to the Animal realms more often than to the Saint realms

People say that: "Nature changes, but human nature can't." We've advised bad people to change to be good many times, but they haven't changed So we have concluded that it’s difficult to change people But the truth is that it's very easily to change a good person into bad person And this has created tragedies in marriage and family life At the beginning of a marriage, people live happily with each other But after a while, we gradually change because we have to earn a living, so we stay away from cultivation and practicing dharma, and slowly change for the worse, day after day It is very sad indeed But if we were exposed to Buddhism dharma, we could cultivate and develop a sustainable happy life

We can see that the tameness/gentleness or cruelness/viciousness in animals

is designed and programmed in their instinct Humans are both gentle and cruel Saints are holy and because they are holy, they are Saints It is taught in Buddhism sutras that there are four levels of meditation Those who can reach the first level of meditation will completely forgo all bad thoughts from their minds It's very difficult to achieve this, so whoever can successfully reach the first level

of meditation, they are the greatest

There's no law in the world of animals, they only live on instinct For example, a female cheetah will hunt for food and raise her newborns affectionately But when the newborns are fully grown up and can hunt for themselves, the mother cheetah will chase them away from her territory They must leave and begin a new life by themselves and eventually lose the sense of their mother and child relationship That's determined by instinct and not by law

Humans have ethical and moral standards and we can refrain from doing wrong For those who cannot refrain themselves from doing wrong, we create laws to handle them If all humans had high moral and ethical standards, we would not need the law

For example, when we have a Buddhist festival at Phat Quang Pagoda, we have a rule: each person should not take more than three lunches Why? Because when people take too much food, they cannot eat it all, and then others cannot get any food Or when coming into the Buddha hall, everyone must keep their footwear in their own bags to avoid being stolen Because our society still has greedy people, we must have rules

Or in foreign countries, they have rules: parents mustn't hit their children How can we teach the children well if we can't punish them when they do wrong? But, there is the reason for this There're many parents that hit their children with rage and cruelty and cause death or disability So, that rule is very reasonable When people are less ethical, we need to set more laws

Or long ago, people trusted each other and loaned money to one another without entering into a contract or without the intervention of law But nowadays, both sides have to sign the contract and involve the law In early societies, there was very little law because people lived morally and ethically These days the law has become more complicated because people have become less ethical and moral

To the point where, mostly in western countries, people are afraid to help others in

an accident This is because the victim could turn around and sue the rescuer for causing them more pain or causing the accident, and the law will punish them Therefore, the only help they can do is to contact the emergency responders In many cases, when the ambulance arrives, the victims are already dead The victims could still be alive if they were helped right away Sometimes kindness is not appreciated but betrayed, therefore, good people are afraid to reach out and so leave it all to the law

We can see that the world of animals just rely on instincts Human society has both ethics and law The world of the saint in the heavens does not need law, because they live by morals and ethics The saints know how to do the right thing During Buddha's era, for the 13 years of teaching Buddha Dharma, many people were enlightened without having any rules for monks Nowadays, monks and nuns must follow 250 rules Why do they have to follow so many rules? It is because too many of them have done wrong For example, one of the rules is “No sexual conduct” At the beginning, this rule did not exist This happened when a married man become a monk His wife cried and told him that she needs a child to inherit the family line before he could become a monk He agreed with his wife When the Buddha asked him the reason why, he said that Buddha did not have a rule against having children, that’s why he had one child with his wife So, from that day, Buddha created a rule that monks cannot have children

Many people asked us “why do some monks smoke?” Buddha did not set this rule because there was no tobacco in his time Today, the circumstance has changed, life has changed, and we need to add more rules to justify our current situation

Let’s look at desires and pleasure If we like to enjoy life, enjoy the desire

of our flesh, we know that we will be reborn in Animal realms or Human realms, and there is no other way Only those who forgo of all pleasure and desires will become saints Maybe they are not saints at the moment, but in their hearts and mind they are already looking forward to letting go of all pleasures and fleshy desires, and that will take them towards the sainthood path Just look inside your heart and mind and you'll know the path of your rebirth

We need to be aware that worldly pleasures are temporary, impermanence, attachment, suffering Because we think that it is pleasure, but the truth behind it

is only suffering, and we must let go of it to be happy, and we need to recognize it

in order to let it go For those who let go of it will go toward the path of