According to the conventional time,
twenty-four hours are a day-night, seven days are a week,
four weeks are a month, twelve months are a year. Counting
from January 1st to December 31st, we
end an old year, we begin a new year, we add my new age, new
vitality, new peacefulness, new welfare and new reunion with
our relatives and lovers in our life.
We know in scientific society today, we can
live up to about one hundred spring ages; one hundred spring
ages are an even and round number, most of us that hear also
like also want, are also joyfully and also cheerful, as long
as we live healthily, live youngly, live beautifully, live
peacefully and happily for ourselves and the others only.
When young, every time the spring comes, we
each are also happy and also joyful. Happy is because we who
are received money as a New Year’s Day present are worn new
clothes, are eaten enough kinds of cakes, jams such as
cylindrical glutinous rice cake, snow-flaked cake (sprinkled
with powered sugar), green bean cake, candied ginger, sweet
potato jam, dry preserved squash, etc. As Buddhists on the
occasion of the beginning of the spring, we who follow our
parents go to Pagoda to pay homage to the Buddha, to the
Dharma Patriarch, Virtuous
and Compassionate Quan The Am Mother or
Avalokiteśvara Mother to
protect and support us and our relatives and lovers in the
family a new year of plentiful health, peaceful body and
mind, eradicated disease, destroyed disasters, the wholesome
lead to us, the unwholesome are banished from us.
Next, we go to the house of clan worship to
congratulate ancestors, two parental and maternal sides, who
still live in the advancement of spirituality and virtue and
who died gently and salvagedly. We visit the grave to pray
for the deceased born in a realm of peacefulness. We visit
our relatives like aunt, uncle, maternal uncle, maternal
uncle’s wife, father’s sister, mother’s sister, etc. to wish
everyone riches and honours. And finally, we go out with
friends hither and thither to confide in, to share, and to
converse with two or three of us, etc. If congenial to each
other, we can choose a good day and month to sow the seeds
and to fruit this year. If those conditions gather
insufficiently yet, we can make another appointment of
better chance. It is the view of the spring when we remain
young, this view until growing up, we can comprehend our
parents’ good and beautiful teachings.
The look of the second Spring is the look of
assembly and reunion. According to Vietnamese tradition,
every year ends, Tết – Lunar New Year’s Day comes, the
remaining days of the last month of the year, in spite of
what to do, where to live, we always take advantage of
returning and taking refuge in our family to help parents,
spouses, siblings and children. We help our family in
cleaning verdigris of the copper lamps, sweeping out the
cobweb, placing fruits on the altar, making cakes and jamps,
etc. Gathering and serving only some of those things are
also enough to make our family joyful and happy, never mind,
we who are members of our family together attend a meeting
to learn from experiences of doing business in last year; a
good thing we continue maintaining and developing, a
non-good thing we bravely eliminate, simultaneously we show
us a direction of doing business more clearly and steadily
for new year.
The above is concerned with people who work
near home, in the morning go, in the evening come back,
next, we mention people to settle or to work in a far-away
place like in other cities, other provinces, other
countries, etc. Those who are far from home always have the
same thought in common, look near forward to the new days of
the beginning of the year, wish to have a free chance to go
back to a family reunion, visit homeland, village, visit a
round and round path, banyan tree, water well, boat in the
olden days. If this year there is not yet a suitable chance
of returning to celebrating New year, then the year after
and the year after next we shall court and try to go back to
celebrate New Year Festival once. As the expatriate
Vietnamese, most of everyone have the same thought of wish
like this. Carrying out so, members easily build their own
family of reunion, peacefulness and happiness.
Beside a family of reunion, we
have one more Pagoda of reunion,
Vihara of reunion,
monastery of reunion, etc. As the Forthgoing Ones, living in
the Community of the Sangha,
we have many various levels of cultivation, learning,
religious age.There
is someone learning Buddhist Studies at local school in the
home province, there is someone learning Buddhist Studies in
the neighbouring province, there is someone learning
Buddhist Studies at home, there is someone learning Buddhist
Studies abroad, etc. There is someone having five religious
ages, there is someone having fifteen religious ages,
twenty-five religious ages, fifty religious ages, etc.
Although practitioners’ levels of Buddhist Studies and
religious ages are different, every person’s ideals and
purposes of helping themselves and saving life are not
different. Because of the same ideals and purposes, the
Forthgoing Ones easily build their own nobly spiritual life
for themselves.
To desire to do so, we should rely on
national Tết holiday to have the opportunity to meet and
reunite the Temple and Dharma
friends in many different places from the four
directions and together help our Master, brotherhood,
sisterhood to do single, friendly, daily and practical
things like gardening, watering, arranging flowers, placing
fruits, etc. Because the Buddhist
Dharma that depends on the
worldly Dharma forms,
exists and develops, therefore, the opportunity of Tết
holiday is the favourable opportunity for master and
disciples, elder brothers and younger brothers, the
Forthgoing Ones and the Unforthgoing Ones to meet, to
confide in, to converse with one another about the
Dharma, to congratulate
one another on advancing in years and to share the
experiences of cultivation and learning in last year; a good
experience we continue learning, maintaining and developing,
a non-good experience we determine to remove gradually, and
together map out a new going direction, a useful going
direction, a practically peaceful and happy going direction
for the many.
In traditional Buddhism, apart from the
traditional Tết holidays of the people, we have more
virtuous Tết holidays, spiritual Tết holidays, joyful Tết
holidays, originating from the days of the Buddha’s
children’s Retreat Reason of during the three months,
especially the Forthgoing Ones. Even the Unforthgoing Ones
can also charge their spiritual energy into virtuous battery
on these holy Tết holidays. It is therefore that the
Unforthgoing Ones are together happy with the Forthgoing
Ones’ happiness, happy is because of seeing the former
maintain the Dharma path,
happy is because of seeing the former and the others
together cultivate, together go on the path of upper
direction and good direction, and together go on the path of
enlightenment and spiritual emancipation.
Indeed, the Forthgoing One has the
responsibility to learn the path,
understand it, practice it, spread it, protect it and enjoy
the fragrance of the peaceful flavour of the path, then the
Unforthgoing One also has the duty to learn the
Dharma, understand it,
practice it, propagate it, maintain it, and enjoy the
fragrance of the Dharma
flavour. In the respect of maintaining and developing the
Dharma path, the
Unforthgoing One and the Forthgoing One have the common
purposes of cultivating and gathering flowers and fruits of
authentic peacefulness and blissfulness for themselves and
for the others right in this life.
It is for the above meanings that the
Forthgoing One is exampled as the left wing and the left eye
of a bird, the Unforthgoing One is exampled as the right
wing and the right eye of bird. The bird has enough eyes, it
can fly high, fly far, soar up the immense air to see far to
look widely and to enjoy vast space, it is very happy, very
comfortable and very light-hearted and carefree. If bird
only has a wing and an eye, it walks or skims along the
ground, it sees something unclear, it looks at something
non-far and non-wide, certainly, it will be caught and
slaughtered.
In this case, bird used as metaphor for
Buddhism has enough two Forthgoing and Unforthgoing wings
and eyes. Buddhism has enough these two wings and eyes, it
can go to the future very far and very steadily, especially
it can bring authentic peace, peacefulness and bliss to
living things and living beings. If not having enough one of
those two wings, one of those two eyes, Buddhism goes to the
future not far and unsteadily.
Bird needs to have enough both of its eyes
and wings to see to fly, Buddhism needs to have enough two
kinds of the Forthgoing Ones and the Unforthgoing Ones to
maintain Buddhism existing long in this world. Therefore,
two kinds of these persons that take their vows integrate
with one another, support one another, vow to light up the
torch of the Dharma, vow
to light up that of right confidence, vow to light up that
of love, vow to light up that of Right View, Right Thought,
Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort,
Right Mindfulness and vow to light up the torch of Right
Concentration. When Buddhism is together supported by two
kinds of these persons very intimately, Buddhism, very firm
with the time and space, is spread widely all over the
world.
Above, we read and know that the Forthgoing
One is exampled as the wing of the left side and the eye of
the left side of bird, the Unforthgoing One is exampled as
the wing of the right side and the eye of the right side of
bird. The left side and the
right side temporarily divided thus is easily to
remember and easily to understand.
The left side toward the
Forthgoing One is the upstream side of life. Unlike the
Unforthgoing One, the Forthgoing One who leads a non-family
life leisurely and freely, spares much time to cultivate to
learn and help the Buddhist things for very many persons,
only knows to rely on nature, on the moon the star, on the
Community of cultivation – learning, and on a
Dharma realm of living
beings, has a part in protecting the environment and the
ecology for the planet. In this case,
upstream of life of the
Forthgoing Ones that does not mean against life means to
integrate with life to help
life to bloom fragrantly.
Learning history of Buddhism, we clearly know
when Sakyāmuni Buddha, the
historic Buddha, is still
Siddharta Boddhisattva, who cultivates ascetically and
mortifyingly is nothing but skin and bone, realizes the way
of this asceticism does not bring the result of benefit to
himself. Wanting to have the result of benefit to himself,
he who does not lust for desire and mortifying asceticism by
practicing the Middle Path happily receives a bowl of milk
gruel from Ms Sujata’s
offering with the aim of having enough health to lead to the
path and fruit of liberation in a very near future. When
achieving the path and fruit of deliverance, the Buddha
continues to start out to turn the
Dharma wheel and
introduces the path of peacefulness, that of deliverance,
that of holiness and the authentically peaceful path to
living things and living beings. Carrying out thus is
because He skillfully manipulates and nurtures his body and
mind miraculously. This meaning is very appropriate to a
statement of people “The way
to one’s heart is through one’s stomach.”
Indeed, when eating and drinking in
moderation and temperance, we have enough health and
lucidity to nurture our body and mind, to make any kind of
noble person in the world, including making a Buddha, a
Patriarch, a Boddhisattva,
etc. Buddhism also says so and so do people.
We know when Bodhisattva had finished using
the bowl of milk, He threw the empty bowl down
Neranjara
river and steadily said “If
My meticulousness and cultivation are going to become
enlightenment, this empty bowl
drifts upstream of river.”Honestly, the empty bowl
drifts upstream of river and announces that the result of
His meticulousness and cultivation would certainly achieve
the path and fruit of enlightenment and liberation. Finally,
He became the Buddha, the fully-Awakened One, whose good,
correct and decent signs, whose perfect loving-kindness and
compassion.
Thus, drifting upstream of
river in this case means purity and immaculacy, is not
completely swept away by the current of covetous water, is
not polluted by the world. This meaning describes His body
and mind of perfection, effort, steadfastness and purely
purity. It is thanks to His perfect body and mind that He
has discovered the Four Noble Truths: “That
is Suffering, the Origin of Suffering, the Cessation of
Suffering and the Path leading to the Cessation of
Suffering.”
Indeed, out of the living continuation of the
Buddhadharma and lineage
of the sages, the Forthgoing Ones must lead their life of
immaculacy and awareness, equanimity and selflessness,
mindfulness and awakening to have the time of cultivation
and learning, dissemination of the
Dharma, and the serve of
human life. Out of wanting the Buddha’s teachings to be
spread widely all over the world, the Forthgoing Ones must
live their exemplary life by their noble thoughts, words and
doings. Out of wanting the world of tranquility, the people
of peacefulness, the Forthgoing Ones play the important
roles of the spiritual teachers in teaching the
World-Honoured One’s Dharma
to everyone and advise everyone to try to do the good,
not to do the evil, to lead their peaceful and blissful life
for the many.
Next, the right
side toward the Unforthgoing One is not upstream of
life. Unlike the Forthgoing One, the Unforthgoing One that
was born in the world grows up in the world, has to get
married, is busily much time with family, looks after family
and children, nurtures and educates children to become
virtuous and beneficial persons for himself or herself, for
family, for school, and for society, contributes to building
peaceful person, happy family, tranquil society and
prosperous country.
In this case,
non-upstream of life of the Unforthgoing Ones means
downstreamness of life,
people live their life with family, then the Unforthgoing
Ones also live their life with family and children.
The word of downstreamness of
life of the Unforthgoing One and
the word of integration of life
of the Forthgoing One have many different meanings, but
they both complement one another very intimately.
Due to maintaining the continuity of the
family temple, the connection between spiritual and blood
ancestors’ lineages, the Unforthgoing Ones must have wife,
husband, children, and grandchildren. Due to wanting to
protect the Buddha’s Dharma
efficiently, the Unforthgoing One supports the four
offerings such as clothes,
eatables-drinkables, medicines and furniture for the
Forthgoing One to have the time to study, to learn, to
disseminate the Dharma,
and to serve human life.
Thus, when protecting the
Dharma path, when
propagating the Buddhadharma,
both the Forthgoing One and the Unforthgoing One that
have the same thoughts together go on the way of the upper
direction and that of the good direction, and together go on
the way of calm joyfulness and liberation.
Next, the third look is the contemplative
look of human life. We know people can now live up to one
hundred of the spring ages; one hundred of the spring ages
is exampled as a hundred of the round Spring corn. At the
beginning of New Year, we increase a spring age, that is, we
decrease a spring age. Every year we eat one spring maize,
ten years we eat ten fruits, twenty years we eat twenty
fruits, up to now we eat seven fruits, so we only have
thirty fruits left. Thirty fruits of remaining spring corn
inform us that our food is about to end, the energy of our
physical body is about to end and our life shortens
gradually.
As person living to be aware that when our
spring age decreases a year, we are more aware to live
deeply and leisurely, what we say, what we think and what we
do should bring flowers and fruits of peacefulness and
happiness to the many and should bring the substance of love
and that of understanding to many people.
Indeed, as person living to be mindful and
aware to learn and contemplate the World-Honoured One’s
teachings, we clearly know to a certain stage of energy in
our exhaustedly physical body, we cannot say a word, cannot
move a step and cannot think of a thing. Although our word,
step and thought are changed into a pile of gold, we cannot
do. Clearly aware of thus, in the remaining life of our
life, we try to live beautifully, live usefully, live
purposefully, live ideally, live to bring the fragrance of
peaceful and free flavour to ourselves and to the others
right in this world by applying the Buddha’s teachings into
our daily life, specifically the five conscious things
below.
“The
first conscious thing is that we respect all living beings’
lives, including humans, animals, there are even plants,
trees, flowers, leaves, soils, rocks, etc., we do not kill,
chop, burn and destroy forest, mountain, river, stream,
pond, lake, the open sea, etc. Practicing the first
conscious thing, that is, we are aware to nurture our love
toward all living beings, we contribute to protecting the
environment and lives of living things and living beings and
contribute to building a green, clean and beautiful planet.
The second conscious things is that we
respect private and public assets, heritage, minerals, and
forest products, including gold, silver, gems, needle,
blades of grass, bell, wooden bell, timbers, etc., we do not
steal and do not appropriate the others’ havings. Practicing
the second conscious thing, that is, we are aware to spread
our heart of alms-giving toward the poor, the lonely and the
needy, we exploit the sources of the natural resources
moderately for generations of our descendants to lean on
them, we contribute to conserving, maintaining and
developing virtue, wealth and prosperity for our family and
for the country.
The third conscious thing is that we respect
the happy pair, including spouses and children, we do not
abuse sexual desire of children, do not violate the other’s
chastity, we only relate formally to our lawful spouse.
Practicing the third conscious thing, that is, we are aware
to protect happiness of our parents, spouses and children;
we contribute to bringing peacefulness, joy and fame to our
family, relatives, villages and society.
Owing to connecting lineage of the family
temple, the Unforthgoing One must have spouse, children and
grandchildren. Owing to the lineal continuation of the
sages, owing to inheriting, descending, lighting up the
torch of the Dharma, lighting up that of love, the
Forthgoing One must spare much time to take care of
cultivation, learning, spreading the Dharma and helping many
people. The Forthgoing One that lives a very light-hearted
and leisurely life is not tied by family and children
The fourth conscious thing is that we respect
truthfulness and confidence for everyone, including
grandparents, parents, teachers, friends, etc. We who do not
tell a lie do not speak an embellishing word,
do not speak a piercing word,do
not speak a rough word, do not speak vague and unclear
information, do not speak aspiring and avaricious words, do
not speak words of creating dissension, discord and
disharmony,
etc. Practicing the fourth conscious thing, that is, we are
aware to say words of the truth, the right, those of
confidence, harmony, reconciliation and gentleness, those of
affection, softness, sweetness, easiness of hearing, and
easiness of love, words of the useful value of building and
bringing faith, prestige, harmony, solidarity, and love of
authentic brotherhood and sisterhood to ourselves, to the
others, to family, to relatives and to the communication
right in this world.
The fifth conscious thing is that we respect
peacefulness, tranquility, quietness, steadiness and
carefreeness for the many, including us, our relatives,
lovers and neighbours, we who do not drink alcohol, beer do
not smoke, do not watch and see depraved film, picture and
photograph, especially we do absolutely no use opium and
drugs. Practicing the fifth conscious thing, that is, we do
not violate the above conscious things, we cultivate the
conscious things effortfully, we are aware to protect our
healthy and wholesome body, our perspicacious and lucid mind
for ourselves, we contribute to building and bringing
prestige, the feeling of calm joyfulness and happiness to
our native land and homeland.
Training the above conscious thing solidly,
we not only help us, but also help not to know how many
living things and living beings on this planet. We
contribute to protecting the environment and habitat for
this earth, and practically bring flowers and fruits of
authentic peacefulness, happiness and peace to the world of
humanity today.”
Clearly understanding like this, now we live
very tranquilly, in future we live very peacefully, we live
very gently and leisurely. Dwelling stably in the World-
Honoured One’s Dharma, we
live without any fear and worry though life is impermanent,
though birth, agedness, disease and death happen to our life
in any circumstance, in any moment, our body and mind are
still tranquil, leisurely and carefree.
“Though our
life is impermanent,
Despite birth, old age, disease and death,
We who have already had the peaceful way,
Do not have worry and fear any longer.”
We have already had the peaceful way,
that is, we choose, practice and apply a
training method of being suitable for the Buddha’s teachings
with Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action,
Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right
Concentration into our day-to-day life. As person living
consciously, we cultivate, learn, train the Buddha’s
teaching steadily, we enjoy and taste the peaceful
Dharma, from here, the
fragrance of joyful flavour, that of free flavour and that
of authentically happy flavour penetrate, pervade and cool
our body and mind.
Finally, looking the fourth contemplative
spring through the five periods of one’s various time from
when still lying in mother’s womb until when we close our
eyes and depart our life. As the mentioned above, one’s life
can now live up to a hundred of spring ages, we can
temporarily divide one hundred of spring ages into
the five periods of different time as
follows:
In the first stage,
our spring age can still lie in our mother’s womb or born.
We know since when mother conceives until when her foetus
was born, the latter has about the time of nine months and
ten days, or earlier or later than that time a little. In
the time of still lying in its mother’s womb, foetus is very
peaceful and comfortable. When her foetus is hungry, there
is mother helping it to eat. When her foetus breathes, there
is mother helping it to breathe. When her fotues is ill,
there is mother helping it to take medicine, etc. That thing
means foetus’ stomach is full, that is, mother’s stomach is
full; foetus breathes, that is, mother breathes; foetus is
healthy, that is, mother is healthy, and vice versa. All of
foetus’ doings have direct influences on mother’s doings.
Due to mother doing all things for her
foetus, when pregnant, she is very careful. We know all of
mother’s good and not good things have her direct influences
on her foetus’ consciousness. Therefore, when mother says,
thinks and does toward her foetus, she must use her mindful
and conscious body and mind. Mother who cuts vegetables must
do them straight. She who burns an incense stick on the
altar of ancestors must light it straight. She who places a
thing on the table must do straight, walks, stands, lies
down, sits in deliberation, looks at beautiful flowers,
pictures, photographs and images of the Buddha and
Bodhisattvas. Mother practices like that, her foetus is at
ease, gentle and comfortable.
In the second stage,
our spring age is from one year of age to twenty-five years
of age. In this second stage, we can divide our spring age
into the four various stages as follows:
a. Spring age from one year of age to three
years of age – newborn baby or suckling: In this age group,
baby that is still so young is cherished as a thin egg,
eaten, drunk, sucked, carried by parents and siblings,
especially mother. As person looked after consideration,
baby that practiced saying
papa, mama rightly looking at beautiful pictures like
photographs of flowers, images of the Buddha and
Bodhisttvas. These
pictures and photographs are imbued with pure consciousness
of very young child.
b. Spring age from four years of age to
twelve years of age – Infants to children: In this age
group, children that grow up gradually know to walk, stand,
say, look, etc. Parents that are persons have responsibility
to choose children suitable and wholesome toys, games,
books, films, pictures and photographs that have scientific
and educational characters, know to arouse and waken up
potential understanding of children, keep track of them and
allow them to go to school.
c. Spring age from thirteen years of age to
nineteen years of age – teenage age: In this age group,
young person not only develops the physical side, but also
the mental side. Parents that have their responsibility to
instruct their children to live the lifestyle of family
virtue, to honour the elder allow children to learn a trade
corresponding with children’s taste, especially teach them
useful way of life to themselves, to school, to family and
to society.
d. Spring age from twenty years of age to
twenty-five years of age – youth age: In this age group,
young people that have grown up are full of energy and
vitality, can get married and maintain the continuity of
family temple, can contribute to building a family of
peacefulness and bliss, homeland of tranquility, richness
and beautifulness.
Through spring age from one year of age to
twenty-five years of age, we know family which is the first
school is the place of educating child since when having not
yet known to move to say to write until when growing up, is
the place of teaching child to know to love and respect
grandparents, parents, siblings and neighbours. Parents who
are professors teach love, brotherhood, sisterhood, family
morality, tradition and lifestyle, children who are
pupils-students learn love, brotherhood, sisterhood, family
morality, tradition and lifestyle. In the process of
receiving the good and beautiful words from their relatives
and lovers in family, children still learn the good and
beautiful things from teachers, friends, colleagues, etc.
outside school and society. Understanding and doing like
this, we contribute to building peaceful people, happy
family and tranquil and prosperous society right in this
world.
In the third stage,
our spring age can be from twenty-six years of age to fifty
years of age. In this age group, we concentrate on building
our happy family growing up in strength, we who have
children permit them to go to school, teach them to become
useful persons, take care of children being married off,
etc. In the present society, as the Unforthgoing Ones, we
should be aware that whether girls or boys, each of our
families only has two children, we nourish, teach, support,
etc. them very well and easily.
In the fourth stage,
our spring age can be from fifty-one years of age to
seventy-five years of age. This age group is spring age
group of the sunset, we who have stabilized our life stop
everything gradual, give gradually up external conditions,
take care of cultivation, sit in meditation, chant
Sutras, recite the
Buddha’s names, accumulate, cultivate merits and plant the
good blessing tree for descendants to depend on. Vietnamese
proverb has written: “To
leave havings as mountain is not as important as to leave
merits for children to depend on.”
To leave riches as mountain, if debauched children
in their family that do not know to follow their parents’
virtuous example do the good blessings, maintain family
culture, tradition and virtue, then they gradually destroy
riches also ended. But if parents leave merits to
descendants, then descendants use and inherit parents’
merits long. We know havings which is as much as mountain is
left by parents is exampled as full water in the lake,
descendants use it to a certain time, water in the lake is
certainly exhausted, but merits parents cultivate and leave
is exampled as subterraneous water in a mountain spring,
descendants use it constantly use it constantly never dryly.
The foregoing meanings which emphasize that
to leave merits to descendants is more important than to
leave havings to them advise everyone to train, to
cultivate, to try to do the good, say the good and think of
the good to bring flowers and fruits of peacefulness and
happiness to the many. Vietnamese folk song has written: “People
plant their virtuous trees, hey, people!, we who plant the
moral trees are happy with our daily life.”Indeed,
when doing a good and useful thing, we are not only happy
with ourselves, but also happy with the others again there.
The fifth stage is the last stage of our
spring age from seventy-six years of age to one hundred
years of age. This age group, which is the age group of
solidity, maturity, density, richness of experience, is also
that of tranquil cultivation, preparedness to carry one’s
spiritual luggage to go to the Pure Land or Paradise by
oneself. We know when we are still young, our
psychophysiology is excited, officious, our living
experience is young, we who stand this mountain expect that
mountain, our thinking and doing are unthoroughly yet. But
our spring age grows old, we have very much free time to
consider, to contemplate, to be in charge of
painstakingness, cultivation and contemplation, to take
charge of luggage and victualling of life gently and
light-heartedly. Each of our thoughts is every good thought,
each of our words is every amiable and lovable speech, and
each of our doings is every peaceful and blissful doing for
the many. We advise and teach our descendants how to live to
deserve to become useful persons for ourselves and for the
others right in this world.
Through the above-mentioned things, we are
aware that though impermanent life happens to us, though
birth, agedness, disease and decease occur to us, in this
spring age we are young, in that spring age we do not remain
young, we always take hold of thought that we are really
happy persons who are training the World-Honoured One’s
Dharma taste the peaceful
flavour of the World-Honoured One’s
Dharma, are spreading
feelings of love and understanding to many people.
In brief, on the occasion of Tet coming, we
ask respectfully to wish the Honoured Monks and Nuns,
abroad-learning Monks and Nuns, the
Dharma friends, good male
and female Buddhists everywhere, Guests of honour,
governmental leaders at all levels, Dignitaries in friend
religion, overseas Students inside as well as outside the
country to entirely enjoy the
Maitreya Spring brimful of joyfulness, at the same time
respectfully wish all of Your relatives and lovers plentiful
health, peaceful body and mind in the
Dharma, Buddhist matters
of perfect accomplishment.
The Dharma
of learning, that of training, that of understanding, that
of peacefulness, that of guardianship and that of flavour
which are penetrated have the ability to make Your body and
mind cool softly.
Thich Trung Sy, the Spring of the Tiger -
2010
