Ái ngữ

Source: Làng Mai, http://langmai.org/tang-kinh-cac/kinh-van/kinh-moi-dich/ket-mot-trang-hoa/kinh-thuc-tap-ai-ngu

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Ngôn Ngữ Phẩm Pháp Cú Kinh đệ bát
言語品法句經第八
 
Kinh Thực Tập Ái Ngữ
Thiền sư Nhất Hạnh, dịch từ kinh Pháp Cú trong Hán tạng (Đại tạng T-210)

Kinh thứ 8

Phẩm này có 12 bài kệ. Bài kệ thứ 12 dạy ta nên học nói năng theo kiểu nói năng của Bụt: Mỗi lời nói đều có thể đưa tới an lành, có công năng xây dựng tăng thân và môi trường tốt cho sự thực tập.‘‘Đó là thứ ngôn ngữ cao nhất của các thứ ngôn ngữ’’. Nếu ta thực tập buông bỏ được ý muốn trừng phạt, nếu tâm ta chí thành muốn cho ai cũng bớt khổ thì tự khắc lời nói của ta trở nên lời nói cam lộ. Đó là ý chính của bài kệ thứ 11, ái ngữ đi với lắng nghe sẽ giúp ta và kẻ khác tái lập được truyền thông và đưa tới nếp sống thuận thảo an lành. Bài kệ thứ 3 là một tiếng chuông chánh niệm: Sử dụng ác ngữ thì cũng như ngậm một cái búa trong miệng mình; chiếc búa ấy sẽ chặt đứt sinh mạng của chính mình. Bài kệ thứ 5 nói lên được cách hành xử đẹp nhất trên đời: lấy oán báo oán, oán oán chập chùng, lấy đức báo oán, oán ấy tiêu tan.

Bài kệ 1
Ác ngôn mạ lị 惡 言 罵 詈
Kiêu lăng miệt nhân 憍 陵 蔑 人
Hưng khởi thị hành 興 起 是 行
Tật oán tư sanh 疾 怨 滋 生

Kiêu căng, sử dụng những lời ác độc để chửi mắng, lăng mạ và tỏ ý khinh miệt người khác, làm như thế thì sẽ gây ra nhiều thù oán.

Bài kệ 2
Tốn ngôn thuận từ 遜 言 順 辭
Tôn kính ư nhân 尊 敬 於 人
Khí kết nhẫn ác 棄 結 忍 惡
Tật oán tự diệt 疾 怨 自 滅

Sử dụng lời nói từ tốn, thuận thảo và lịch sự đối với người khác thì có thể dập tắt được những oán kết. Nhẫn nhục được trong những trường hợp bức xúc, làm như thế thì ganh ghét và hờn oán sẽ tự tiêu tan.


Bài kệ 3
Phu sĩ chi sanh　 夫 士 之 生
Phủ tại khẩu trung 斧 在 口 中
Sở dĩ trảm thân 所 以 斬 身
Do kỳ ác ngôn 由 其 惡 言

Con người sinh ra trên đời nếu sử dụng ác ngữ thì cũng như có một lưỡi búa trong miệng mình. Chính lưỡi búa ấy sẽ chặt đứt thân mạng của mình.

Bài kệ 4
Tránh vi thiểu lợi 諍 為 少 利
Như yểm thất tài 如 掩 失 財
Tòng bỉ trí tránh 從 彼 致 諍
Lệnh ý hướng ác 令 意 向 惡

Cãi cọ không đem lại một chút lợi ích nào, chỉ có tác dụng bít lấp truyền thông, làm hao thất tài sản mình và đưa tới tranh chấp khiến cho tâm ý hướng về nẻo xấu.

Bài kệ 5
Dự ác ác sở dự 譽 惡 惡 所 譽
Thị nhị câu vi ác 是 二 俱 為 惡
Hảo dĩ khẩu quái đấu 好 以 口 儈 鬪
Thị hậu giai vô an　 是 後 皆 無 安

Khen ngợi cái ác cũng như nói lời ghét bỏ những người được xưng tụng, cả hai đều là chuyện không nên làm. Ưa thích tranh cãi và đấu lý sẽ đem lại tình trạng không có bình an sau này.

Bài kệ 6
Vô đạo đọa ác đạo 無 道 墮 惡 道
Tự tăng địa ngục khổ　 自 增 地 獄 苦
Viễn ngu tu nhẫn ý　 遠 愚 修 忍 意
Niệm đế tắc vô phạm 念 諦 則 無 犯

Lời nói không phù hợp đạo lý sẽ làm cho mình sa đọa vào các con đường dữ, chỉ có công dụng làm lớn thêm cái khổ địa ngục của mình. Biết lánh xa kẻ ngu phu, biết tu hạnh nhẫn nhịn và luôn luôn nhớ tới sự hành trì trên con đường tứ đế và bát chánh đạo thì sẽ không phạm vào lầm lỗi ấy.


Bài kệ 7
Tùng thiện đắc giải thoát 從 善 得 解 脫
Vi ác bất đắc giải 為 惡 不 得 解
Thiện giải giả vi hiền 善 解 者 為 賢
Thị vi thoát ác não 是 為 脫 惡 惱

Hành xử hiền lành thì đạt tới giải thoát, hành xử dữ dằn thì không tự cởi trói cho mình được. Kẻ biết khéo léo hóa giải là bậc hiền nhân, có khả năng vượt ra ngoài mọi não phiền hung dữ.

Bài kệ 8
Giải tự bão tổn ý 解 自 抱 損 意
Bất táo ngôn đắc trung 不 躁 言 得 中
Nghĩa thuyết như pháp thuyết 義 說 如 法 說
Thị ngôn nhu nhuyễn cam 是 言 柔 軟 甘

Đừng ôm ấp ý muốn làm tổn hại và trừng phạt người khác. Không có tiết tháo thì lời nói không trung thực. Nói lời có nghĩa, có lý thì cũng giống như nói pháp, những lời như thế có vị ngọt của Cam lộ.

Bài kệ 9
Thị dĩ ngôn ngữ giả 是 以 言 語 者
Tất sử kỷ vô hoạn 必 使 己 無 患
Diệc bất khắc chúng nhân 亦 不 尅 眾 人
Thị vi năng thiện ngôn 是 為 能 善 言

Ai có khả năng sử dụng ngôn ngữ tốt lành ấy thì sẽ không tạo tai họa cho chính mình, cũng không gây xung đột với người.

Bài kệ 10
Ngôn sử đầu ý khả 　 言 使 投 意 可
Diệc lệnh đắc hoan hỉ 亦 令 得 歡 喜
Bất sử chí ác ý 不 使 至 惡 意
Xuất ngôn chúng tất khả 出 言 眾 悉 可

Lời nói gây ra được sự tâm đầu ý hợp có tác dụng làm cho người ta hoan hỷ, không đưa tới ác ý. Nói năng được như thế có thể giúp cho mọi người chấp nhận hài hòa.


Bài kệ 11
Chí thành cam lộ thuyết 至 誠 甘 露 說
Như pháp nhi vô quá 如 法 而 無 過
Đế như nghĩa như pháp 諦 如 義 如 法
Thị vi cận đạo lập　 是 為 近 道 立

Tâm chí thành đưa tới lời nói cam lộ, đúng như giáo pháp mà không ai có thể trách cứ được. Lời nói ấy phù hợp với chân nghĩa, với chánh pháp, đi đúng vào con đường chánh đạo.

Bài kệ 12
Thuyết như Phật ngôn giả　 說 如 佛 言 者
Thị cát đắc diệt độ 是 吉 得 滅 度
Vi năng tác hạo tế 為 能 作 浩 際
Thị vị ngôn trung thượng 是 謂 言 中 上

Nên sử dụng ngôn ngữ của Bụt sử dụng, nói những lời an lành có công năng đưa tới Niết Bàn và có công năng xây dựng được môi trường tu tập chánh pháp. Đó là thứ ngôn ngữ cao nhất của tất cả các ngôn ngữ.

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Cao tăng xứ Phù Nam (Funan 扶南)

Mandra (曼陀羅仙 Mạn Đà La Tiên, 5th–6th centuries) was a Tripiṭaka master from Funan (扶南 Phù Nam), a pre-Angkor Indianized kingdom located around the Mekong delta.

In 503, the second year of the Tianjian (天監 Thiên Giám) years during the Southern Liang Dynasty (502–57, nhà Lương), Mandra arrived in Jiankang (建康 Kiến Khang), the present-day Nanjing (Nam Kinh), Jiangsu Province (tỉnh Giang Tô). With the support of Emperor Wu (梁武帝 Lương Vũ Đế), he helped Saṅghavarman (僧伽婆羅 Saṃghabhara, Sanghaphala - Tăng Già Bà La, 460–524), who was also from Funan, translate Sanskrit texts into Chinese. In 506, Mandra translated the Sūtra of Mahā-Prajña-Pāramitā Pronounced by Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva (T08n0232 - Văn Thù Sư Lợi Sở Thuyết Ma Ha Bát Nhã Ba La Mật Kinh). Nothing more is known about him.


(From: Fo Guang Da Ci Dian, 佛光大辭典 Phật Quang Đại Từ Điển)

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Ngài Tăng Già Bà La (僧伽婆羅, Sanghabhadra, Sanghaphala - dịch là Tăng Khải) vốn là người Phù Nam, xuất sanh vào năm 460, thông minh đảnh ngộ từ thuở nhỏ, sớm đã thân cận học Phật pháp, xuất gia từ lúc còn trẻ, chú trọng nơi luận A Tỳ Ðàm, thanh danh đã vang khắp vùng Nam Hải. Thọ giới cụ túc xong, y theo giới luật mà tu tập tròn vẹn. Ngài có ý chí đi khắp nơi để hoằng dương chánh pháp. Nghe nước Tề tôn sùng Phật pháp, nên Ngài đáp thuyền đến kinh đô Kiến Khang, trụ tại chùa Chánh Quán, làm đệ tử của sa môn Cầu Na Bạt Ðà (người Thiên Trúc). Sau này theo ngài Cầu Na Bạt Ðà nghiên cứu tinh tường kinh Phuơng Ðẳng. Chưa đọc xong hết mà đã tinh thông yếu chỉ. Ngài lại thông thạo rất nhiều ngôn ngữ. Sau khi nhà Tề bị diệt vong, Ngài đoạn hết tất cả thế duyên, ẩn tu trong rừng núi, để dưỡng đạo nghiệp.
 
Niên hiệu Thiên Giám thứ năm (506), được sắc lịnh của Lương Võ Ðế, tại năm nơi như Chiêm Vân Quán, chùa Chánh Quán, trụ quán Phù Nam, vườn Hoa Lâm, cung điện Thọ Quang ở Dương Ðô trong suốt mười bảy năm trường, Ngài chuyên ròng phiên dịch kinh điển, tổng cộng được 11 bộ, và 48 quyển, như kinh Ðại A Dục, luận Giải Thoát Ðạo, v.v... Lúc Ngài mới bắt tay vào công việc phiên dịch tại cung điện Thọ Quang, Lương Võ Ðế đích thân đến pháp tọa mà ghi chép văn dịch, cùng duyệt thảo lại hết văn kinh dịch. Nhà vua lại ra lịnh cho sa môn Bảo Xướng, Huệ SIêu, Tăng Trí, Pháp Vân, v.v... trợ giúp việc phiên dịch, như kiểm thảo lời kinh, khiến kinh văn được lưu loát. Nhà vua thường tiếp lễ Ngài rất thâm hậu. Song, Ngài không tự giữ tài vật riêng tư. Thái úy Lâm Xuyên Vương Hoằng tiếp đãi Ngài rất trọng hậu.
 
Niên hiệu Phổ Thông thứ năm (524), ngài Tăng Già Bà La nhập tịch tại chùa chánh quán, thọ sáu mươi lăm tuổi.


(From: http://www.dharmasite.net)

Upanisa Sutta (Discourse on Supporting Conditions, SN 12.23)

Source: Transcendental Dependent Arising -- A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta, Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Wheel, no. 277-278, BPS, Sri Lanka, 1980.

Upanisa Sutta
(Discourse on Supporting Conditions, SN 12.23)

While staying at Savatthi the Exalted One said:

"The destruction of the cankers, monks, is for one who knows and sees, I say, not for one who does not know and does not see. Knowing what, seeing what does the destruction of the cankers occur? 'Such is material form, such is the arising of material form, such is the passing away of material form. Such is feeling... perception... mental formations... consciousness; such is the arising of consciousness, such is the passing away of consciousness' — for one who knows and sees this, monks, the destruction of the cankers occurs.

"The knowledge of destruction with respect to destruction has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for the knowledge of destruction? 'Emancipation' should be the reply.

"Emancipation, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for emancipation? 'Dispassion' should be the reply.

"Dispassion, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for dispassion? 'Disenchantment' should be the reply.

"Disenchantment, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for disenchantment? 'The knowledge and vision of things as they really are' should be the reply.

"The knowledge and vision of things as they really are, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are? 'Concentration' should be the reply.

"Concentration, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for concentration? 'Happiness' should be the reply.

"Happiness, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for happiness? 'Tranquillity' should be the reply.

"Tranquillity, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for tranquillity? 'Rapture' should be the reply.

"Rapture, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for rapture? 'Joy' should be the reply.

"Joy, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for joy? 'Faith' should be the reply.

"Faith, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for faith? 'Suffering' should be the reply.

"Suffering, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for suffering? 'Birth' should be the reply.

"And what is the supporting condition for birth?. 'Existence' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for existence? 'Clinging' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for clinging? 'Craving' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for craving? 'Feeling' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for feeling? 'Contact' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for contact? 'The sixfold sense base' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for the sixfold sense base? 'Mentality-materiality' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for mentality-materiality? 'Consciousness' should be the reply.

"What is the supporting condition for consciousness? 'Kamma formations' should be the reply.

"Kamma formations, monks, also have a supporting condition, I say, they do not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for kamma formations? 'Ignorance' should be the reply.

"Thus, monks, ignorance is the supporting condition for kamma formations, kamma formations are the supporting condition for consciousness, consciousness is the supporting condition for mentality-materiality, mentality-materiality is the supporting condition for the sixfold sense base, the sixfold sense base is the supporting condition for contact, contact is the supporting condition for feeling, feeling is the supporting condition for craving, craving is the supporting condition for clinging, clinging is the supporting condition for existence, existence is the supporting condition for birth, birth is the supporting condition for suffering, suffering is the supporting condition for faith, faith is the supporting condition for joy, joy is the supporting condition for rapture, rapture is the supporting condition for tranquillity, tranquillity is the supporting condition for happiness, happiness is the supporting condition for concentration, concentration is the supporting condition for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are is the supporting condition for disenchantment, disenchantment is the supporting condition for dispassion, dispassion is the supporting condition for emancipation, and emancipation is the supporting condition for the knowledge of the destruction (of the cankers).

"Just as, monks, when rain descends heavily upon some mountaintop, the water flows down along with the slope, and fills the clefts, gullies, and creeks; these being filled fill up the pools; these being filled fill up the ponds; these being filled fill up the streams; these being filled fill up the rivers; and the rivers being filled fill up the great ocean — in the same way, monks, ignorance is the supporting condition for kamma formations, kamma formations are the supporting condition for consciousness, consciousness is the supporting condition for mentality-materiality, mentality-materiality is the supporting condition for the sixfold sense base, the sixfold sense base is the supporting condition for contact, contact is the supporting condition for feeling, feeling is the supporting condition for craving, craving is the supporting condition for clinging, clinging is the supporting condition for existence, existence is the supporting condition for birth, birth is the supporting condition for suffering, suffering is the supporting condition for faith, faith is the supporting condition for joy, joy is the supporting condition for rapture, rapture is the supporting condition for tranquillity, tranquillity is the supporting condition for happiness, happiness is the supporting condition for concentration, concentration is the supporting condition for the knowledge and vision of things as they really are, the knowledge and vision of things as they really are is the supporting condition for disenchantment, disenchantment is the supporting condition for dispassion, dispassion is the supporting condition for emancipation, and emancipation is the supporting condition for the knowledge of the destruction (of the cankers)."

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Duyên
(Hòa thượng Minh Châu dịch)

1)... Trú ở Sàvatthi.

2) -- Này các Tỷ-kheo, đối với người biết, này các Tỷ-kheo, đối với người thấy, Ta nói các lậu hoặc được đoạn diệt, không phải đối với người không biết, không phải đối với người không thấy.

3) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, như thế nào đối với người biết, đối với người thấy, các lậu hoặc được đoạn diệt? Ðây là sắc, đây là sắc tập khởi, đây là sắc đoạn diệt. Ðây là thọ... Ðây là tưởng... Ðây là hành... Ðây là thức, đây là thức tập khởi, đây là thức đoạn diệt. Như vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, đối với người biết, như vậy đối với người thấy, các lậu hoặc được đoạn diệt.

4) Này các Tỷ-kheo, trong đoạn diệt ấy, trí về đoạn diệt, Ta nói rằng trí ấy có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

5) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của trí về đoạn diệt là gì? Giải thoát là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng giải thoát có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

6) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của giải thoát là gì? Ly tham là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng ly tham có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

7) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của ly tham là gì? Yếm ly là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng yếm ly có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

8) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của yếm ly là gì? Tri kiến như chân là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng tri kiến như chân có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

9) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của tri kiến như chân là gì? Ðịnh là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng định có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

10) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của định là gì? Lạc là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng lạc có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

11) Này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của lạc là gì? Khinh an là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng khinh an có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

12) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của khinh an là gì? Hỷ là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng hỷ có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

13) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của hỷ là gì? Hân hoan là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng hân hoan có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

14) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của hân hoan là gì? Lòng tin là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng lòng tin có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

15) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của lòng tin là gì? Khổ là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng khổ có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

16) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của khổ là gì? Sanh là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng sanh có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

17) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của sanh là gì? Hữu là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng hữu có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

18) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của hữu là gì? Thủ là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng thủ có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

19) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của thủ là gì? Ái là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng ái có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

20-25) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của ái là gì? Thọ là câu trả lời... (như trên)...

Xúc là câu trả lời...
Sáu xứ là câu trả lời...
Danh sắc là câu trả lời...
Thức là câu trả lời...
Hành là câu trả lời. Này các Tỷ-kheo, Ta nói rằng hành có duyên, không phải không có duyên.

26) Và này các Tỷ-kheo, duyên của hành là gì? Vô minh là câu trả lời.

Như vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, vô minh duyên hành; hành duyên thức; thức duyên danh sắc; danh sắc duyên sáu xứ; sáu xứ duyên xúc; xúc duyên thọ; thọ duyên ái; ái duyên thủ; thủ duyên hữu; hữu duyên sanh; sanh duyên khổ; khổ duyên tín; tín duyên hân hoan; hân hoan duyên hỷ; hỷ duyên khinh an; khinh an duyên lạc; lạc duyên định; định duyên tri kiến như chân; tri kiến như chân duyên yếm ly; yếm ly duyên ly tham; ly tham duyên giải thoát; giải thoát duyên trí về đoạn diệt.

27) Ví như, này các Tỷ-kheo, trên đỉnh núi trời mưa nặng hột và nước chảy theo triền thấp, tràn đầy hang núi, khe núi, thung lũng. Khi các hang núi, khe núi, thung lũng được tràn đầy, thời ao nhỏ được tràn đầy; ao nhỏ được tràn đầy thời ao lớn được tràn đầy; ao lớn tràn đầy thời sông nhỏ được tràn đầy; sông nhỏ được tràn đầy thời sông lớn được tràn đầy; sông lớn được tràn đầy thời biển lớn, đại dương được tràn đầy.

28) Cũng vậy, này các Tỷ-kheo, vô minh duyên hành; hành duyên thức; thức duyên danh sắc; danh sắc duyên sáu xứ; sáu xứ duyên xúc; xúc duyên thọ; thọ duyên ái; ái duyên thủ; thủ duyên hữu; hữu duyên sanh; sanh duyên khổ; khổ duyên tín; tín duyên hân hoan; hân hoan duyên hỷ; hỷ duyên khinh an; khinh an duyên lạc; lạc duyên định; định duyên tri kiến như chân; tri kiến như chân duyên yếm ly; yếm ly duyên ly tham; ly tham duyên giải thoát; giải thoát duyên trí về đoạn diệt.

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Ignoring the inbox - a new morning mantra

Eli Greenblat

Sydney Morning Herald, 09 November, 2012

If you, like most office workers, open your email first thing in the morning, then you might be setting yourself up for a horrible day and wasting hundreds of hours a year.

The work email inbox is a "pandora's box" of nitty-gritty detail, gossip and distractions that are best dealt with later in the morning, and pressing the "send receive" button as soon as you slouch in your seat is the worst way to start your day.

These are the somewhat controversial views of Danish organisational behavioural expert and corporate consultant Rasmus Hougaard, who has taken his new way of working to international companies such as Sony, General Electric and Danish brewer Carlsberg.

"Doing emails first thing in the day is so ineffective," says Hougaard, "it is the worst thing you can do at work."

His teachings, in demand in his home country of Denmark and around the world, are based on a philosophy called "mindfulness".

Mindfulness has it origins in Buddhist traditions, stretching back thousands of years to Yogism, Taoism and Judaism, and has been applied to improve personal relationships, and more recently, to enrich the work environment. It is also being used as a therapeutic application in clinical psychology, as well as stress reduction and improving well-being.

"Mindfulness is basically a method to make your mind more effective, to achieve the things you want to achieve in life," says Hougaard, who was in Australia this week to promote his "mindfulness in the workplace" philosophy and to attract new students and trainers to his camp.

"And if you are a professional, a corporate, you have some specific things you have to look out for. Mindfulness will help you be more effective, by making you more focused and thereby higher-performing."

The problem is, explains Hougaard, the mind has a tendency to wander, getting caught up in emotions and distractions, from sadness over a past relationship, for example, or mentally listing the weekend shopping list. These diversions can lead to miscommunication, poor work and wasted labour hours.

For Hougaard, and others in the mindfulness school of psychology, it's all about being in the present moment and paying attention in a particular way. The mantra is: "on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally".

Followers also believe the therapeutic application goes a long way to developing emotional resilience, enhancing people's capacity to focus and ultimately act on what is important and meaningful in their lives and at work.

This has obvious benefits for businesses whose distracted, unhappy staff waste thousands of hours each year.

Hougaard believes this daily wandering – who won Big Brother last night? What was that song on the radio this morning? Has someone taken my coffee mug? – can take up half of the average person's day.

"The mind is wandering almost half the time that we are awake," Hougaard says. "That means we are not really present with what we are doing half of the time, and that's quite a lot of time.

"If we can take this into the boardroom of any company, 10 people sitting around a room, there is a good chance that at least half of them are not present with this meeting, meaning the whole objective of the meeting is not achieved as fast and as high-quality as it could be if everyone was focused."

It's the same with work emails, says Hougaard, who is the founder and managing director of the Potential Project – a Denmark-based international provider of corporate based mindfulness training programs.

Hougaard, who has taught mindfulness to individuals and corporations in Europe, Asia and the US since 2000 and holds a Bachelor's degree in philosophy, says office workers are wasting up to three hours a day in the way they read and respond to emails because of the "wandering" mind and a lack of mindfulness.

And that unproductive time can be at its worst first thing in the morning.

"When you come in to work in the morning you have been just sleeping, and you have a complete open view of your working day. Most people know when they get in to work what they have to do, in terms of goals for the day, but then what happens is you open your mailbox and you are bombarded with all these nitty-gritty details and sometimes – many times – not very important emails.

"And your mind is absorbed into that rather than the goals and the priorities for the day.

"Studies show we can spend two to three hours every day at work on email and most of that time we are thinking about other things.

"We are allowing our mind to be distracted by incoming emails, or people talking around us, and we are basically not having the mental capabilities to stay focused on those emails and to deal with them one-by-one."

Emailing is a fast way of communicating, he teaches, but sometimes it can be too fast.

"A single word can be interpreted differently from the intention of the sender. It can cause minutes or hours of anger, confusion, doubt and other energy-consuming states of mind. Applying a short moment of mindfulness when emailing can save much time and energy. Mindful emailing is a way of training the mind to stay in the driver seat and never run on autopilot."

To help workers and companies to trawl faster, and more intelligently, through the flood of emails that wash up in the inbox every day, Hougaard has developed a morning plan for office workers when they first arrive at their desk:

* Take 5-10 minutes to get in the present moment. (This can include special breathing and meditation-like postures.)

* Take a few minutes to consider the main objectives and priorities for the day.

* For the next 30 to 90 minutes, focus on work duties (reports, organising meetings) that are of highest importance and require attention, creativity and productivity.

* Only after this, check your inbox.

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Bored stiff? Then you should be reading this ...

From:  The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October 2012

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Everyone has their moments of downtime, but it's not a pleasant feeling, writes Ann Robinson.

*

What were you doing before you started reading this? Were you fully focused on another article? Or doing the crossword? Eating breakfast? Organising your day? Or were you staring out of the window, feeling restless and bored?

It is more likely to have been the latter. Fleeting moments of boredom are universal, and are often what drives us to stop what we are doing and shift to something that we hope will be more stimulating.

Although boredom is common, however, it is neither trivial nor benign, Dr John Eastwood, a psychologist at York University, Toronto, says. Eastwood is the joint author of The Unengaged Mind, a new paper on the theory of boredom.

Boredom, he points out, has been associated with increased drug and alcohol abuse, overeating, depression and anxiety, and an increased risk of making mistakes. Mistakes at work might not be a matter of life and death for most of us, but if you are an air traffic controller, pilot or nuclear power plant operator, they most certainly can be.

A commercial pilot, Sami Franks (not his real name), confirms that boredom can make pilots lose attention

''When you fly long haul, there are two pilots, one of whom is monitoring all the screens while the other does the paperwork, talks to air traffic control and so on. You need to be alert for landing and takeoff, but once you're 500 feet [150 metres] above the runway, the plane's on autopilot and it can be very quiet and boring.

''In a study I saw of co-pilots who woke up after a nap, 30 per cent reported seeing the other pilot asleep too,'' Franks adds, in a comment that will not play well with nervous flyers.

The stakes are not usually so high, but boredom can be protracted, heavy and associated with an unpleasant sensation, Eastwood says. And despite having attracted the attention of philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists and educationalists, there is no precise definition of boredom and no consensus as to how we counter it. .

''All instances of boredom involve a failure of attention,'' Eastwood says. ''And attention is what you are using now to blot out the plethora of stimuli around you while you focus awareness on a given topic.''

There are three functions involved in attention. We have to be suitably aroused, so as not to fall asleep on the job. Then we have an orienting system that can cut in so that if you cross the road, deep in thought, you will still respond to a flickering light on the edge of your visual field that heralds a fast-approaching car. And the third type of attention is an executive system that oversees our mental activities, so we can consciously stay engaged even if the task is not very interesting. Boredom results when any of these functions breaks down.

Dr Esther Priyadharshini, a senior lecturer in education at the University of East Anglia, in England, has studied boredom and says it can be seen in a positive light.

''We can't avoid boredom - it's an inevitable human emotion,'' she says. ''We have to accept it as legitimate and find ways it can be harnessed. We all need downtime, away from the constant bombardment of stimulation. There's no need to be in a frenzy of activity at all times.''

Children who complain that they have nothing to do on rainy half-term breaks may find other things to focus on if left to their own devices.

The artist Grayson Perry is believed to have spoken of how long periods of boredom in childhood may have enhanced his creativity. ''We all need vacant time to mull things over,'' Priyadharshini says.

But if boredom can enhance our creativity and be a signal for change, why is it such a corrosive problem for some individuals?

People who have suffered extreme trauma are more likely to report boredom than those who have had a less eventful time. The theory is that they shut down emotionally and find it harder to work out what they need. They may be left with free-floating desire, without knowing what to pin it on. This lack of emotional awareness is known as alexithymia and can affect anyone.

Frustrated dreamers who haven't realised their goals can expend all their emotional energy on hating themselves or the world, and find they have no attention left for anything else.

Bungee jumpers and thrill-seekers may also be particularly susceptible to boredom, as they feel the world isn't moving fast enough for them.

''Boredom isn't a nice feeling, so we have an urge to eradicate it and cope with it in a counterproductive way,'' Eastwood says. This may be what drives people to destructive behaviours such as gambling, overeating, alcohol and drug abuse, he says, though research is needed to tease out whether there's a direct causal link.

''The problem is we've become passive recipients of stimulation,'' Eastwood says. ''We say, 'I'm bored, so I'll put on the TV or go to a loud movie.' But boredom is like quicksand: the more we thrash around, the quicker we'll sink.''

Guardian News & Media

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Can the Theravada Bhikkhuni Order be Re-established? It Already Has.

Can the Theravada Bhikkhuni Order be Re-established? It Already Has.

By Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi

From:  Present  - The Voices and Activities of Theravada Buddhist Women,  August 2012

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In March 2012, Sri Lanka’s national newspaper, the Ceylon Daily News, printed a statement issued by the Concise Tripitaka Editorial Board, which discusses whether the Dhammavinaya allows the re-establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order. The statement begins:

“The re-establishment of the Bhikkhuni Order which was the subject of debate a few decades ago has surfaced once again. Agitation and press conferences were held recently by the parties who claim to have established the Bhikkhuni Order, in a bid to pressurize the Government to recognize the Bhikkhuni Order. Already the Most Venerable Maha Nayaka Theras have informed the Commissioner-General of Buddhist Affairs that it is not possible to establish a Bhikkhuni Order according to the ‘Dharmavinaya’ the doctrine of the Buddha.“

American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi submitted the following response (which was not published in the Ceylon Daily News).

*

 I am writing in response to a statement published in the Daily News on March 29, 2012, “Can the Theravada Bhikkhuni Order be Re-established?” issued by the Concise Tripitaka Editorial Board. The Board offers a negative answer to this question, but I find its statement to be grounded upon biases and assumptions that are not absolutely convincing. I have already addressed these in detail in a booklet I published titled “The Revival of Bhikkhuni Ordination in the Theravada Tradition” (available online at: http://tinyurl.com/7n49otq). In this short article, with all due respect to the Mahanayaka Theras, I wish to contend not only that the Theravada Bhikkhuni Order can be re-established, but that it has already been re-established and that by taking a liberal point of view, the ordination should be regarded as legitimate.

The main legal objection the Mahanayaka Theras raise against a revival of the Bhikkhuni Sangha stems from the fact that the Vinaya holds that women are to be ordained by both the Bhikkhuni Sangha and the Bhikkhu Sangha. In their view, to be a purely Theravada ordination, it must also come from an existing Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha. This leads to a predicament. In the absence of an existing Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha, a legitimate Theravada Bhikkhuni ordination cannot be granted, and since, in their view, there is no existing Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha, they conclude that “setting up a Bhikkhuni Order cannot be done under the Dharmavinaya.”

It is just this conclusion that I wish to contest. The first step in doing so is to note that Theravada Vinaya theory often merges stipulations that stem from the canonical Vinaya and Commentaries with interpretations and assumptions that have gained currency through centuries of tradition. I do not want to undervalue tradition, for it represents the accumulated legal expertise of generations of Vinaya specialists. However, we also must remember that tradition should not be placed on a par with the canonical Vinaya or even the secondary authorities, the Vinaya Commentaries.

We can illustrate this point with an analogy from geometry. If we draw a straight line through a point and extend the line, the distance between its two ends increases and it seems logical to hold that the two ends will never meet. But this is so only because we are thinking in the framework of Euclidean geometry. If we adopt the standpoint of spherical geometry, we can see that a continuous line drawn on a sphere eventually winds back on itself. Thus, if I break away from my familiar assumptions, a new range of possibilities suddenly opens up.

The same applies to the Mahanayakas’ position regarding the possibility of bhikkhuni ordination: they are based on implicit assumptions. The two assumptions behind their position are: (1) the dual-Sangha ordination was intended to apply under all circumstances without exception; (2) the Theravada is the only Buddhist school that preserves an authentic Vinaya lineage stemming from the Buddha. These two assumptions are only traditional beliefs without canonical support. Both can be challenged by making two contrary stipulations.

The first is that under exceptional circumstances the Bhikkhu Sangha alone can ordain women as bhikkhunis, based on the Buddha’s statement: “I allow you, bhikkhus, to ordain Bhikkhunis.” This allowance was never rescinded by the Buddha. The legitimacy of ordination by bhikkhus alone, when a Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha does not exist, was recognized—even advocated—by no less a figure than the original Jetavan Sayadaw of Burma, one of the most learned monks of the twentieth century, the meditation master of the famous Mahasi Sayadaw (I have translated the text from Pali into English in my booklet referred to above).

The second stipulation is intended to preserve the form of a dual-Sangha ordination. It holds that the Theravada Bhikkhu Sangha can collaborate with a Bhikkhuni Sangha from an East Asian country such as Taiwan in conducting a dual-Sangha ordination. The Mahanayaka Theras think that what the Chinese Buddhists confer is a Mahayana ordination, but this is a misunderstanding. While Chinese monks and nuns for the most part follow Mahayana Buddhism, the Vinaya tradition they observe is not a Mahayana Vinaya but the Vinaya of the Dharmaguptakas, an early Buddhist school that prevailed in northwest India. The Dharmaguptakas also originated from the Asokan missions and belonged to the same Vibhajjavada tradition to which the Theravada school belongs.

The Bhikkhuni Sangha that has recently sprung up in Sri Lanka derives from a grand ordination held at Bodhgaya in February 1998, conducted under the auspices of Taiwanese Buddhist elders working in collaboration with Sri Lankan elders. First, the grand ordination ceremony assembled bhikkhus from several countries and traditions—mainly Taiwanese and Sri Lankan—along with Taiwanese and Western bhikkhunis to serve as the Bhikkhuni Sangha. The women who were ordained included Theravada ten-precept nuns from Sri Lanka and Nepal, as well as Western nuns following Tibetan Buddhism. A full dual-ordination was conducted in accordance with the Dharmagupta Vinaya tradition. In Vinaya terms, the women that were ordained became full-fledged bhikkhunis inheriting the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya lineage.

To make them heirs to the Theravada Vinaya lineage, the Sri Lankan bhikkhus took the newly ordained bhikkhunis to Sarnath and conferred on them another ordination based on the Pali Vinaya Pitaka. This ordination did not negate the earlier dual-ordination received from the Chinese Sangha but supplemented it, inducting the bhikkhunis into the Theravada Vinaya lineage. This procedure was very similar to the dalhikamma often given in Sri Lanka to allow bhikkhus from one Nikaya to change over to another Nikaya or to join another monastic community.

It may be of interest to note that while the Concise Tripitaka Editorial Board ends by quoting Venerable Madihe Paññasiha Mahanayaka Thera to support its repudiation of bhikkhuni ordination, the Ven. Paññasiha’s close disciple, the late Ven. Dhammavihari, a Vinaya scholar, came to recognize the validity of bhikkhuni ordination late in his life and defended it at the 2007 conference in Hamburg. Thus, different views are possible even between close colleagues in the Sangha.

As I see it, the Vinaya itself cannot be read in a fixed manner as either unconditionally permitting or forbidding a revival of the Bhikkhuni Sangha. It yields these conclusions only as a result of interpretation, which often reflects the attitudes of the interpreters and their framework of assumptions. In my opinion, in dealing with this issue, the question that should be foremost in our minds is this: “What would the Buddha want his elder bhikkhu-disciples to do in such a situation, now, in the twenty-first century?” Would he want us to apply the regulations governing ordination in a way that excludes women from the fully ordained renunciant life so that we present to the world a religion in which men alone can lead the life of full renunciation? Or would he instead want us to apply the Vinaya in a way that is kind, generous, and accommodating, thereby offering the world a religion that truly embodies principles of justice and nondiscrimination?

The answers to these questions are not immediately given by any text or tradition, but I don’t think we are left entirely to personal opinion either. We can see in the texts how the Buddha displayed both compassion and rigor in setting up the Vinaya. We can also see how, in laying down rules for the Sangha, he took account of the expectations of lay people in the wider society. In working out a solution to our own problem, therefore, we have these two guidelines to follow. One is to be true to the spirit of the Dhamma. The other is to be responsive to the social, intellectual, and cultural ideals of people in the present period of human history.

Looked at in this light, the revival of a Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha can be seen as an intrinsic good that conforms to the spirit of the Dhamma, helping to fulfill the Buddha’s own mission of opening “the doors to the Deathless” to everyone, women as well as men. At the same time, the existence of a Bhikkhuni Sangha allows women to make a meaningful contribution to Buddhism as preachers, scholars, meditation teachers, and also as counselors and guides to women lay followers. A Bhikkhuni Sangha will also win for Buddhism the respect of people in the world, who regard the absence of gender discrimination as the mark of a truly honorable religion in harmony with the worthy trends of present-day civilization.

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