The Purpose of the Dharma, bài số 1 bậc Kiên

The purpose of the GDPT is to train Thanh, Thiếu, Đồng Niên (youth members) to be a true Buddhist and to be a productive citizen making positive contributions to society through Buddhist ethics. As a leader, you take responsibility to educate the youth members. You must have a firm and solid stance on this better than anyone else. Before training and developing young people on the principles of Buddhist practice, one must have an understanding of the purpose of the dharma and some perspective on how it was established.

I. The Formation of Buddhism

Everything began with the enlightenment of Gautama Siddhartha. When he observed the suffering of greed, anger, sickness, old age and death, he set out on a personal mission to discover the true causes of suffering and a way to eliminate the suffering. From that enormous force of compassion, Siddhartha began a series of experiments, self-examination, and cultivated a variety of meditation practices in order to open and clear his mind. His determination and ability grew stronger, enabling him to overcome obstacles and shine the light of wisdom on the causes of suffering and the methods that could be used to eliminate suffering.

The literal translation of “Buddha” means to awaken — to be aware, attentive and awake to one’s self nature. It is simple and un-complicated but not easy to attain. It is vitally important to understand that Buddha is not a statue, an all-powerful god or some divine being. Siddartha was just a man. A man that liberated himself from the chains of mental conditioning.

Seen in this way, Buddhism is not a religion of any Supreme Being where followers have expectations of prayers and such being answered from above and beyond. The teachings of the Buddha (Buddhism) are not dogmatic commandments, forcing believers to follow and to be saved. The pure and simple purpose of the Dharma is just a map or description of the path for anyone to follow that seeks peace, happiness and freedom. The ultimate goal or aim is for everyone to become a Buddha. In fact, Buddha said in one of his discourses, "I am the present Buddha, you are the future Buddha."

II. Is Buddhism another school of thought?

As identified above, Buddhism is a school of thought, but it is different from other schools of thought past and present on the fundamentals as well as the terms and usages. Therefore, the Dharma cannot be described by terminologies of other teachings.

III.

Not only does Dharma let us see the causes of suffering but also shows us the path leading to the elimination of suffering, advancing to the state of happiness and peace. The Dharma teaches us that we must save ourselves rather than relying on Gods or divine spirits to save us.

IV. The Purposes of the Dharma

In previous lessons we learned about the fundamentals of Buddhism, here we see the formation of Buddhism. If the awareness that life is impermanent, constantly changing, then one can see that even the “Self” does not exist. The purpose of the Dharma is to bring people from misery to joyful, from ignorance to enlightenment, from the tight grasp of afflictions to liberation. The goal of the Dharma is to:

• a. Leads us to "chơn thường": When practices lead to the enlightenment path, then we are no longer being governed by law of impermanence.
• b. Bringing us to "chơn lạc": A complete happiness and endless peace.
• c. Bringing us to the "chơn ngã": When practice reaches complete liberation, it will be completely freed from the bondage, allows human to have the capacity to implement their good intentions.
• d. Bringing us to "chơn tịnh": How much pollution can a cultivator filtrate to live a life of pure serenity and in the present moment without being impacted by defiled, mundane life?

On a practical level, applying Dharma to real life issues and situations will help us build the love, tolerance and understanding for one another. Because of the spirit of absolute equality, Buddhism levels the social injustices of the human race and makes the human race blend happily in the spirit of universal love.

In the briefest terms, the purpose of Buddhism is to eliminate greed because greed is the root of sufferings and delusions. The Sutra Dhammapada says, "those who are passionately in greed, self afflict in a net trap like that of the spider. Whoever is able to free from the binding, no longer attached to, then he/she will be far from the sound of suffering and live in the present moment."

In short, the aim of Buddhism is to bring religion into everyday life, bringing wisdom to all beings for them to be awakened.

V. How to Learn the Dharma?

After understanding the goal of the Dharma, how should one learn the Dharma?

1. Buddhism is a religion of caring and compassion. However, if we study Buddhism with the mindset to find personal happiness, pray for self-safety and protection, or accumulation of wealth, then it is completely contrary to the original Dharma teaching.
2. As Buddhists, we must study Buddhism not only in theory and concept but also learn through the life examples, words, and actions of the historical Buddha.
3. Learning Buddhism from books is okay, but the deeper, more lasting benefit is applying the Dharma correctly in daily life and having a more lasting realization.
4. Dharma is different compared to other schools of thought. When studying Buddhism, try not to apprehend with shallow meanings, through common everyday words, or understand Buddhism through the lens of other teachings.

   For example:

   • The term "Karma" may translate to "action", but it carries a deeper meaning as “action with intention.”
   • The word "quán đãi" may seem similar to “đối đãi” or “treat”, but the intention behind them differs significantly.
   • "Thị hiện" or “manifest” in Buddhism differs deeply from “giáng sinh” or “birth” in other religions.
   • The terms "Tự Giác" (voluntary awareness) and "Giác ngộ" (enlightenment) go far beyond their everyday interpretations.
   • Words such as "vọng động" (restless movement) and "chơn như" (true suchness) require deeper exploration within Dharma context to be properly understood.

   Therefore, we need to thoroughly understand Buddhist terminology to avoid misunderstanding the Dharma.