Tve tb ly thuyet nhan tinh qua chua xac dinh

www.thuvien-ebook.com Lý thuyết Nhân Tính qua kinh tạng Pàli Luận án Tiến sĩ Phật học Thích Chơn Thiện Việt dịch: Tâm Ngộ, 1999          Mục lục Lời Giới Thiệu Lời Nói Ðầu Phần I Giới thiệu tổng quát I.1 Chương 1: Dẫn nhập I.1.1: Nhan đề giới thiệu đề tài: I.1.2 Phạm vi đề tài I.2 Chương Giáo lý Duyên khởi, Sự thật Ðời sống I.2.1 Tư tưởng xã hội Ấn trước ngày Ðức Phật đản sanh I.2.2 Con đường đến Chân lý Ðức Phật Phần II Giáo lý Duyên khởi II.1 Chương 1: Ý nghĩa Duyên khởi II.1.2 Ý nghĩa mười hai phần Duyên khởi II.1.3: Sự vận hành mười hai chi phần Duyên khởi II Chương II Nhân sinh quan Vũ trụ quan II 2: Duyên khởi vấn đề cá nhân II.2.3: Cá nhân Môi sinh II.2.4: Cá nhân Giá trị người Phần III Lý thuyết Nhân tính hiển lộ qua kinh tạng Pàli III.1 Chương 1: Các lý thuyết Nhân tính đương thời III 1: Chương Các lý thuyết nhân tính đương thời III.1.1 Lý thuyết nhân tính III.1.2.: Nét đặc trưng nhân tính III.1.3: Nhìn lại lý thuyết nhân tính tiêu biểu III 2: Chương Con người năm uẩn III 1: Ý nghĩa Ngũ uẩn II 2: Sự vận hành năm thủ uẩn III.2.3 Năm thủ uẩn vấn đề Khổ hạnh Hạnh phúc Phần IV Năm thủ uẩn vấn đề cá nhân IV.1 Chương 1: Dục vọng cá nhân IV.2 Chương 2: Năm Thủ uẩn giáo dục cá nhân IV.1 Chương Dục vọng Cá nhân IV.1.1: Dục lạc IV.1.2 Dục tình IV.1.3: Hữu IV.1.4: Vơ hữu IV.1.5: Cái nhìn trí tuệ IV.2 Chương Năm thủ uẩn giáo dục cá nhân IV.2.1: Giáo dục cá nhân IV.2.2 Năm thủ uẩn vấn đề nghiệp cũ nghiệp IV.2.3: Tu tập năm thủ uẩn giáo dục Phần V Kết luận V.1 Chương 1: Hướng Văn hóa Giáo dục V.1 Chương Hướng giáo dục văn hóa V.1.1: Hướng giáo dục V.1.2 Hướng văn hóa V.2 Chương Giải đáp khủng hoảng đương thời V.2.1: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng tư duy' V.2.2: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng dục vọng' V.2.3: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng tim' V.2.4: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng tình cảm' V.2.5: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng đạo đức' V.2.5: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng  môi sinh' V.2.7: Giải đáp cho 'khủng hoảng giáo dục' - HẾT -ooOooThe Concept of Personality Revealed Through The Pancanikaya By Ven Thich Chon-Thien Preface End Text Lời Giới Thiệu "Lý thuyết Nhân tính qua kinh tạng Pàli" đề tài luận án Tiến sĩ Thượng tọa Thích Chơn Thiện thực đệ trình Ðại học Delhi Thượng tọa cấp phát văn Tiến sĩ Triết học lễ Tốt nghiệp lần thứ 73, ngày 13 tháng năm 1996 Ngay sau trình bày Hội đồng tiền duyệt, luận án đánh giá cao yêu cầu xuất Qua năm phần luận án, tác giả miêu tả, diễn giải phân tích Giáo lý Duyên khởi Ðức Phật trình bày cách hệ thống khái niệm Nhân tính năm kinh Nikàya mà tác giả xem để phát người vật hữu thể phải chịu chi phối luật Duyên khởi nên người tập hợp năm uẩn vốn Khổ, Vô thường Vô ngã Và thế, gọi Nhân tính khơng khác vận hành liên tục năm uẩn chẳng dính dáng đến Tơi, Của tơi Tự ngã tơi Do đó, chấp chặt vào nhân tính bất ổn định huyễn giả ln tạo khổ đau gây phiền hà cho hoạt động người Chính từ quan điểm này, tác giả đề nghị nhìn văn hóa, giáo dục nêu số giải đáp cho khủng hoảng Trong tác phẩm xuất Thượng tọa vòng ba chục năm qua, nhiều tác phẩm dùng làm sách giáo khoa, giáo tài Trường, Viện Học viện Phật giáo Việt Nam Trong nỗ lực sưu tập cơng trình giá trị để giới thiệu cho giới trí thức Phật giáo chúng tơi thật biết ơn tác giả chấp thuận cho công bố cơng trình Viện Nghiên cứu Phật học Việt Nam Tháng 02 năm 1999 Lời Nói Ðầu Với Phật tử, Phật giáo thường hiểu tôn giáo hay nếp sống đạo đức Có khảo luận xem Phật giáo đường giáo dục Ngay tác phẩm giáo dục tiếng, "Các Lý thuyết Nhân tính" Calvin S Hall Gardner Lindzey xuất lần thứ ba, năm 1991, có chương trình "Tâm lý học Ðơng Phương" bàn Thắng Pháp (Abhidhamma) qua mười sáu trang giấy, lý thuyết Nhân tính phương Ðơng Trong cơng trình biên khảo này, nỗ lực tác giả trình bày lời đức Phật dạy qua Kinh Tạng Pàli lý thuyết Nhân tính làm sở xây dựng hướng văn hóa, giáo dục Tác giả mở đầu tác phẩm từ khủng hoảng xã hội đến lý thuyết Nhân tính đức Phật để tìm giải đáp cho khủng hoảng xã hội Tác giả biết khó khăn phải vượt qua cơng trình biên khảo, với khích lệ giáo sư cố vấn, Thượng tọa tiến sĩ Satyapàla, tin tưởng tiến hành biên khảo, sau đề tài luận án Hội đồng Khảo cứu Văn khoa, đại học Delhi chấp thuận ngày 16/02/1994 Tác phẩm chia năm phần:     Giới thiệu đề tài     Duyên khởi thật     Lý thuyết Nhân tính qua Kinh Tạng Pàli     Năm thủ uẩn vấn đề cá nhân     Kết luận: Một hướng cho giáo dục, văn hóa giải đáp cho khủng hoảng Tác giả nhìn người hữu duyên mà sinh, q trình trở thành, mà khơng thực thể có chất thường Tác giả hi vọng tác phẩm đem lại hữu ích cho giới giáo dục Hồn thành cơng trình này, tác giả chân thành ghi ân Phân khoa trưởng phân khoa Phật học, Ðại học Delhi, tiến sĩ K T S Sarao; giáo sư cố vấn, tiến sĩ Satyapàla, quí vị giáo sư, giảng sư Phân khoa Phật học Tác giả trân trọng ghi ân quan Văn hóa I.C.C.R Chính phủ Ấn Ðộ tặng học bổng M.Phil Ph.D Trân trọng ghi ân Chính phủ Việt Nam cho phép xuất ngoại du học, trân trọng ghi ân Hịa thượng Thích Minh Châu, Viện trưởng Viện Nghiên cứu Phật học Việt Nam, khích lệ tác giả nghĩ đường giáo dục Phật giáo Sau cùng, tác giả trân trọng ghi ân tác giả tác phẩm cung cấp nhiều tư liệu biên khảo giá trị cho luận án Tỷ kheo Thích Chơn Thiện (Nguyễn Hội) Phần I Giới thiệu tổng quát I.1 Chương 1: Dẫn nhập     I.1.1: Nhan đề giới thiệu đề tài     I.1.2: Phạm vi đề tài I.2 Chương 2: Duyên khởi thật     I.2.1: Tư tưởng xã hội Ấn trước thời đức Phật     I.2.2: Con đường đến chân lý đức Phật  I.1 Chương Dẫn nhập I.1.1: Nhan đề giới thiệu đề tài: Giáo dục thường hiểu làm nên văn hóa văn minh xứ sở Các cơng trình sáng tạo suối nguồn văn minh, vai trò xây dựng phát triển xã hội giáo dục nguồn suối văn hóa dân tộc Giáo dục, văn hóa, văn minh sản phẩm tư người Trong thời đại, người ln ước mong an ổn, hịa bình hạnh phúc Vì thế, văn hóa giáo dục phải đem lại an ổn, hịa bình hạnh phúc cho người Một hệ thống văn hóa, giáo dục phải xây dựng sở hệ thống triết lý, tâm lý mẫu người giáo dục lý tưởng Các vấn đề giáo dục quan yếu này, theo quan điểm tác giả phải xuất phát từ lý thuyết Nhân Tính lý tưởng nói lên thật người đời, mối liên hệ tách rời người đời Như biết, văn minh nhân loại rơi vào khủng hoảng Các nước tiên tiến tập trung phát triển kỹ nghệ nặng, nhẹ, đặc biệt đại kỹ nghệ Các nước phát triển đường kỹ nghệ hóa Tất đặt trọng tâm vào phát triển kinh tế, nghĩa quan tâm nhiều đến sản phẩmvà lợi tức mà bỏ quên phát triển hướng sống tâm linh đạo đức Hướng phát triển ràng buộc với tâm tham chấp thủ người đem lại cho giới chiến tranh nóng, lạnh khủng hoảng xã hội, đạo đức môi sinh, v.v đương thời báo động cho mối hiểm họa hủy diệt tập thể gây cho chiến ngun tử, hóa chất, nhiễm đất đai, nước non khơng khí Nhiều giá trị khác giáo dục đương thời cần xét lại cần lời dạy đức Phật soi sáng, là: Vấn đề cạnh tranh: Văn minh kỷ hai mươi xây dựng tảng tinh thần cạnh tranh Người phương Tây cho tinh thần giúp họ phát triển nhanh kinh tế văn hóa Nhưng thật gây nhiều khủng hoảng đề cập Thế nên, tinh thần cạnh tranh cần xét lại Cạnh tranh nỗ lực để người thắng người khác, vấn đề phải để mình ngày hơm qua lời đức Phật dạy:     - ‘Nếu người chiến thắng triệu quân chiến trường, người khác tự chiến thắng mình, người tự chiến thắng người chiến thắng vĩ đại kẻ chiến thắng’ (Dhp 103)     - ‘Tự thắng tốt đẹp chiến thắng người khác; dù vị Thiên, Càn-thát-bà, Ma Phạm-thiên không chiến thắng người tự chiến thắng mình, người ln ln sống tự chế ngự’ (Dhp 104 - 105) Vấn đề giáo dục người xã hội: Sự phát triển kinh tế kỹ nghệ đòi hỏi đến trọng giáo dục người xã hội, giáo dục nhân u cầu giáo dục người Con người người phải hiểu thật biết làm để đạt hạnh phúc Vấn đề đức Phật dạy:     - ‘Mình chủ nhân mình, khơng khác chủ nhân Người tự khéo chế ngự thấy vị chủ nhân khó tìm thấy’ (Dhp 160)     - ‘Người trí tuệ giữ gìn tâm mình, tâm khó nhận thức, tế nhị, chạy theo dục: tâm khéo giữ gìn đem lại an lạc, hạnh phúc’ (Dhp 36)     - ‘Chúng ta sống thực hạnh phúc dù không xem thứ ta’ (Dhp 200) Vấn đề mẫu người giáo dục: Các nhà giáo dục đương thời có khuynh hướng tạo nên mẫu người giáo dục Ðiều có nghĩa gán cho người chất cố định làm ngưng lại trình phát triển Ví đóng đơi giày cỡ cho nhiều người với nhiều cỡ chân khác nhau, có sai lầm mẫu Về thật người đức Phật tuyên bố:     - ‘Tất pháp vô ngã’ (Dhp 279) Vấn đề liên hệ hữu: Nếu người nhận mối tương hệ hữu khơng thể nhận thật người đời Vô minh gây cho người đời sống người rối rắm, gây ô nhiễm mơi sinh Trong trường hợp đó, giáo dục cần giúp người hiểu rõ thật hữu để bảo vệ người môi sinh Giáo lý Duyên khởi Năm Thủ uẩn Phật giáo lý thuyết giáo dục bảo vệ người môi sinh, bàn đến Giáo dục cho hịa bình lâu dài cho giới: Hịa bình vắng bóng chiến tranh Khoa học lịch sử nhà trường đề cập đến biến cố lịch sử nguyên nhân bên ngồi chiến tranh hịa bình, mà khơng bàn đến động từ tâm thức người, nên giúp người xây dựng hịa bình cho giới Theo lời đức Phật dạy, nguyên nhân việc ác, gồm chiến tranh, tham, sân si Nên điều phải thực tốt để dập tắt chiến tranh dập tắt tham, sân, si qua việc thực hành Chánh pháp điều Thế Tôn dạy:     - ‘Chiến thắng sinh thù ốn, thất bại khổ đau Người từ bỏ thắng lẫn bại người an lạc, hạnh phúc’ (Dhp 201)     - ‘Không hận kẻ ghét hận ta, thật sống hạnh phúc Giữa kẻ hận ta, sống không hận’ (Dhp 197)     - ‘Không tham kẻ tham, thực sống hạnh phúc Giữa kẻ tham, sống không tham’ (Dhp 199) Một hệ thống triết lý giáo dục: Triết lý giáo dục để phục vụ mục tiêu giáo dục mở hướng giáo dục hạnh phúc người Nó xây dựng ba phạm vi: nhận thức luận, giá trị luận thể luận Hệ thống triết lý triết lý giáo dục tư tưởng hữu ngã tạo nên, tư tưởng khơng thật rơi vào khủng hoảng Sự thật Duyên khởi mà đức Phật chứng ngộ rõ đường khỏi khủng hoảng ấy, đường vận hành tư vô ngã, hay vận hành trí tuệ dẫn đến chấm dứt vô minh Sự vận hành bàn đến chương kế (I.2) Giáo dục giải vấn đề cá nhân: Có thể nói trường phái tư tưởng từ ngàn xưa xếp vào ba nhóm: a Nhóm tư tưởng khối thứ ba: Các tư tưởng cho có nguyên nhân vũ trụ gọi nhóm tư tưởng ngơi thứ ba - người mà ta nói Do vai trò làm chủ sống người bị đánh nhóm tư tưởng này, nên tư tưởng nhóm bị tha hóa (alienation) b Nhóm tư tưởng thứ hai: Các tư tưởng cho thật hữu thiên nhiên hay tượng giới gọi nhóm tư tưởng ngơi thứ hai - người mà ta nói với Con người bị đánh nhóm tư tưởng này, nên nhóm gọi tư tưởng tha hóa c Nhóm tư tưởng thứ nhất: Các tư tưởng cho người làm chủ đời mình, hay sống hạnh phúc người, gọi nhóm tư tưởng ngơi thứ - người nói Ðây gọi nhóm tư tưởng nhân bản, bao gồm Phật giáo, sinh chủ nghĩa, Hiện tượng luận tổ chức quyền sống người, giúp người thức tỉnh quay trở Nhưng đây, trở mình, người cịn đối mặt với vấn đề nóng bỏng gây mâu thuẫn mệnh lệnh tư dục vọng mâu thuẫn (id) siêu ngã (superego) Sigmund Freud khám phá Tác giả nghĩ có giáo lý Duyên Khởi, giáo lý giới thiệu người thoát ly khỏi dục vọng, tư hữu ngã khổ đau dục vọng tư hữu ngã (47) : "Mahà-Satipatthàra Suttanta", Digha Nikáya, Vol II, 1982, p 290 (48) : Long Discourses, tr by Maurice Walshe, , p 245 (49) : Digha Nikáya, Vol II, , p 100 (50) : Gradual Sayings, Vol III, PTS, London, 1988, p 59 (51) : Anguttara-Nikáya, Vol III, PTS, London, 1958, p 72 (52) : Kindred Sayings, Vol IV, , 1980, p 85 (53) : Samyutta-Nikáya, Vol IV, , 1990, pp 182-183 (54) : Middle Length Sayings, Vol III, , pp 357 (55) : Majjhima-Nikáya, Vol III, , pp 288-289 (56) : Middle Length Sayings, Vol III, , pp 298 (57) : Majjhima-Nikáya, Vol III, , p 251 (58) : Middle Length Sayings, Vol III, , pp 298 (59) : Majjhima-Nikáya, Vol III, , p 251 (60) : Middle Length Sayings, Vol III, , pp 298-299 (61) : Majjhima-Nikáya, Vol III, , p 251-252 (62) : Middle Length Sayings, Vol III, , pp 119 (63) : Majjhima-Nikáya, Vol III, , pp 75-76 (64) : Long Discourses, tr by Maurice Walshe, , 1987, p 234 (65) : Digha Nikáya, Vol II, , 1982, p 98 Part Five: Conclusion Chapter A New Course of Education and Culture From Lord Buddha's teachings recorded in the five collections of Pali Sutta Pitaka, the author has discussed the doctrine of Dependent Origination and its operation, the five Aggregates and their operation, and Buddhist spirits of education for Individuals He has introduced a human being as a conditioned being, and has not come to any personality theory in which a man is regarded as an entity having a permanent self This is, to his best knowledge, a special feature very helpful to personality theorists and educators of the coming century in opening a new course of culture and education for human beings' peace and happiness It is time for them to make a choice between these two things: one is considering self-thought way of thinking as the basis on which all values in life are based, and considering the fulfillment of one's desire as a means to one's happiness; the other is developing nonself way of thinking as the wisdom regard showing a way of life, and accepting the control of one's desire as a means to one's happiness in the here-and-now, regardless of all difficulties one may meet with in life The former has brought to life a lot of troubles and crises; only the latter is a belief and a hope of releasing those social troubles and crises This is the content mentioned in the fifth part of this work The truth of life, as discussed, says that: A man must be a man of some education and culture, and an education or culture must be education or culture of man They cannot be separated from each other Lord Buddha's teachings for human beings on what the world really is, what a man really is, on individuals' problems, their causes, their cessation, their way to their cessation, and on spirits of individualized education, really imply the meaning of a way of education which is going to be showed more clearly in the next lines New Course Of Education Now, let us take a look into the following points of view on education suggested by some outstanding persons before coming to a discussion about the details of the educational problem Dr E.F Schumacher, the well-known author of a very interesting book titled "Small is Beautiful" wrote: " Education can help us only if it produces "whole men" The truly educated man is not a man who knows a bit of everything, not even the man who knows all the details of all subjects (if such a thing were possible) The "whole man", in fact, may have little detailed knowledge of facts and theories, he may treasure the Encyclopedia Britannica because "she knows and he needn't", but he will be truly in touch with the center He will not be in doubt about his basic convictions, about his view on the meaning and purpose of his life He may not be able to explain these matters in words, but the conduct of his life will show a certain sureness of touch which stems from his inner clarity" (1) Dr E.F Schumacher defined the word "center" in the above quotation as follows: " The center, obviously is the place where he has to create for himself an orderly system of ideas about himself and the world, which can regulate the direction of his various strivings." (2) For him, the root purpose of education must be helping a man understand the truth of himself and the world he is living in, see his course of life, and be responsible for his deeds Although he cannot say what that truth is, but his words sound very humanist and practical His point of view on education deserves to be considered As a very well-known economist, journalist and progressive entrepreneur, an Economic Adviser to the National Coal Board from 1950 to 1970, in England, a Founder and Chairman of the Intermediate Technology Development Group Ltd., etc., his advice on problems of rural development praised by many overseas governments, his above mentioned book printed 34 times from 1963 to 1993, his ideas must be thoughtful, especially ideas on man, economy and environment (3) For Albert Einstein who is one of the greatest scientists of our modern age, he delivered some other special opinions on education, which runs as follows: " The school has always been the most important means of transferring the wealth of tradition from one generation to the next " " Sometimes one sees in the school simply the instrument for transferring a certain maximum quantity knowledge to the growing generation But that is not right Knowledge is dead; the school, however, serves the living It should develop in the young individuals those qualities and capabilities which are of value for the welfare of the commonwealth But that does not mean that individuality should be destroyed and the individual become a mere tool of the community, like a bee or an ant For a community of standardized individuals without personal originality and personal aims would be a poor community without possibilities for development On the contrary, the aim must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals, who, however, see in the service of the community their highest life problem " (4) And he added: "It is not enough to teach man a specialty Through it he may become a kind of useful machine but not a harmoniously developed personality It is essential that the student acquires an understanding of a lively feeling for values He must learn to understand the motives of human beings, their illusions, and their sufferings in order to acquire a proper relationship to individual fellow men and to the community (5) So, Einstein supposes education has a role of maintaining the wealth of tradition, but he doesn't emphasize the role of developing it, and choosing which of the traditions should be maintained, which of it should be reconsidered, because the root purpose of life is to live in happiness but not exactly to live with tradition He also supposes education has a role of educating men to be a man of power-or a social man with specialized knowledge's; and a man himself who must know the wholeness of himself, his illusion and suffering , and his community This sounds very interesting, although it cannot say what a man himself really is As a very outstanding scientist, Einstein's seeing things is so scientific and seeing human beings is so realistic that it should be brought into practice His opinions on education, to the author, may suggest a good course of education For Bertrand Russel, a very well-known U.S writer and thinker of the second part of the twentieth century A.D., mentioning the problem of "Education and social order", he wrote: "Three divergent theories of education all have their advocates in the present day Of these the first considers that the sole purpose of education is to provide opportunities of growth and to remove hampering influences The second holds that the purpose of education is to give culture to the individual and to develop his capacities to the utmost The third holds that education is to be considered rather in relation to the community than in relation to the individual, and that its business is to train useful citizens " (6) Russel's speech reflects rather faithfully what education of today is His view is "no one of the three is a adequate by itself", and a right system of education must apply all the above three theories But all those three theories still lack of the most important thing which is the truth of a man and the true way to his happiness in the present In principle, providing opportunities for the growth of individuals, and helping a man develop his capacities to the utmost are very necessary to every good course of education For the problem of training useful citizens, it should be noticed that a citizen, or a social man, must come after a man himself; without a man himself, a citizen can never be trained So, here emerges a significant realization that the truth of the world and of human beings Lord Buddha Gotama discovered twenty six centuries ago is an invaluable discovery for men's new education and culture if it is to be brought today into schools for use It must be known as a way of life bringing peace and happiness for individuals as well as for their commonwealth, and must be regarded as a major subject of philosophy, psychology, and educational psychology This new branch of education will offer people a new regard to values and attitude of life leading to the calm of desire and ill-will, and to the destruction of wrong perception and thought This branch of education will help individuals analyze their own mind, behavior and trouble to find the right way to live: they will come to recognize that happiness does not ask them to anything more than stopping their desires, and that the very present moment of the here-and-now is when they really are free from troubles, because it always is completely new At that wonderful moment, no one, or no power, puts any trouble into their mind However, to abide in that moment a person should know how to control his self-thought and desire by the insistent practice of wisdom regard and of the four foundations of mindfulness Here he only needs guidance, advice, encouragement, and wakefulness from his teacher and others This means a helping role of education is needed, but not command, force or power; school discipline is still maintained for providing appropriate atmosphere for learning and opportunities for the development of individuals' mind and capacities; and the content of teaching aims at transferring knowledge's for understanding and cultivating individuals' mind, and for the service society in response to the commonwealth-requirements of safety, peace and prosperity Methods of teaching are also demanded for wakefulness rather than stuffing with senseless notions With regard to the above way of education, the appraisal of learning skill of a student, award, punishment, exams, etc., must be reconsidered according to the new course of education In the author's opinion, if the above things are adopted, a way of education for the wholeness of man, humanness and wisdom will come into existence and survive Because the truth of life and man wears no label, so this way of education will wear no label either Since it wears no label, it may be a way of education for all people of all time Because a man is but the operation of the five aggregates, so no image of personality is created for any pattern of education to be followed: for individuals, the meaning of life is to live with what he is in the very present moment without attachment to it: in doing this they will realize peace and happiness in their mind and body; the meaning of life is not anything of thinking or wishing: thinking or wishing only creates an image of life which is dead Since individuals are strongly influenced by their old kamma, or old habits, by environment and by culture, so education has another role of helping them see what influences are hindering their mind, obsessing them, from seeing the five aggregates as they really are, to get rid of them If the performance of all above requirements is done, that way of education is then regarded as education of humanness, reality, wisdom and creativeness This is the meaning of a new course of education New Course Of Culture From a new course of education, a new course of culture originates As quoted earlier, Albert Einstein, a creative scientist, thinks that Education plays a role of maintaining, transferring and developing culture from generation to generation This culture is defined by The Random House College Dictionary as, "The sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings transmitted from one generation to another" In the author's mind, it may be understood as all aspects of life of a group of human beings made up by education and its creative works to cope suitably with nature and to be improved on Regarding this meaning, a new course of culture is discussed As mentioned before, the current culture of human beings is dominated by self-thought which has created the meaning of goodness, badness, gain and loss, success and failure; superiority and inferiority, etc These meanings appear in life as a strong worldly wind that makes men's life-boat rock in the ocean of suffering: it is those meanings which act upon men's mind and cause troubles to arise; these troubles, in their turn, hinder men's regard to things from truth, and pull off their mind from abiding in the very present moment, and so pull off men from true life - because true life only exists in the present That self-thought makes arise in one's mind perception of "I am", "I am this" "I am that", "I am not this", "I'm not that", "I was", "I was this", "I wasn't this", "I was that", "I wasn't that", "I will be" "I will be this", "I will be that" "May I be", "May I be this", "May I be that", etc These perceptions therefore are root causes of craving for sensual desire, craving for existence, craving for non-existence, hatred, anger, etc They lead men to sorrow, lamentation, grief, suffering Such is the operation of self-thought Regarding the doctrine of Dependent Origination, self-thought means ignorance (avijja), and its operation really is the operation of ignorance: this is the arising of Dependent Origination leading to suffering, and is the truth of this current culture Self-thought, therefore, exists as what determines the fateful suffering of human beings If all efforts of those who are searching for happiness are based on self-thought, happiness will always be out of their reach Such is the current culture In fact, all efforts of human beings to build up a culture aim at true happiness as the final purpose of life So, to achieve that intimate purpose, self-thought or ignorance must be replaced by the destruction of ignorance, or wisdom (vijja or paññá): all actions of human beings must be put into the operation of non-self thought as what Buddha taught This operation will open a new culture or a new course of culture leading to the destruction of suffering Here is happiness Non-self thought will function as an intelligent architect who ardently constructs new aspects of life, such as: * The most important aspect of life, called the most important architectural work, is love for life: love for human kind, for a country, for parents, for husband or wife, for children, relatives, neighbors, etc This love led by wisdom (right view and right thought) comes from one's seeing the truth of selflessness of existing things It can extinguish a lot of causes of suffering in life * The next architectural work is giving the true sense to "loyalty" and "justice": morals group, or right speech, right action and right livelihood, is the giver of the sense If a person practices right speech, right action and right livelihood, he must go on the way of "loyalty" and "justice" faithfully: right action implies the meaning of "justice" right speech means "loyalty" and so on * Morals group itself means morality and humanity * Non-self thought leading to happiness shows that: happiness of individuals, the commonwealth and the culture, tradition of a country are two separate things: in the case culture and tradition cannot bring happiness to individuals and the commonwealth, they must be revaluated and improved * Non-self thought helps people see the co-existence of human beings and environment so that they come to protect environment from pollution and human beings from war Tragedies and sufferings * Non-self thought will open a way of thinking for men, creating new concepts of value for the beauty, architecture, painting, etc.; serving happiness of men * All the above new aspects of life will make up a new culture, or new course of culture, for peace and happiness * The world is in serious crises: social crisis and environmental crisis If the course of culture is not changed, those crises cannot be resolved, and human beings will be drowned in that ocean of crises It is time for the world to make a choice between the operation of self-thought and that of non-self thought The writer's belief in the latter is clear It will be shown next Chapter Solutions for Current Crises Men's thought is the root cause of their actions Their wrong thoughts condition wrong actions, which cause troubles and crises in individuals' mind and in human society, then series of troubles and crises arise and arise The search for solutions for them become more and more complicated However, with a great determination, the writer believes, human beings can resolve all by changing the direction of the operation of their thoughts Solution for "Thought Crisis" The most basic crisis of individuals and society is the crisis of individual's thought itself From the old days men's thought has been regarded as the measure of existing things: It gives value to everything It has been used as the crucial means for the search for truth and happiness But, it is this, which creates an imaginative self for things, while they have in reality no self at all From this, men's thought creates a world of imaginative values full of contradictions and troubles The more human beings engage in this imaginative world, the more they sink in the darkness of thought and in a crisis called "thought crisis." With self-thought, people see things as having a permanent self and grasp it This seeing is called "inversion of view" which hinders their mind from reality itself So, the way to resolve the above crisis is coming out of their "inversion of view" or coming into "right view" which sees the truth of Dependent Origination existing in everything In seeing this, people come to realize that: self-thought is empty; desire is coming from self-thought; the phenomenal world of selfness is empty; and desire, ill-will or illusion relating to that world also is empty: they become free from the bondage of them This is solution for "thought-crisis" people are expecting No mystery exists in men's desire, suffering or happiness, etc except their self-thought The extinction of self-thought is the extinction of "thought crisis" indeed Solution for "Desire Crisis" Self-thought also causes another crisis: from it, desire for things arises and causes troubles in man's mind as the author discussed earlier in this work A human being exits in life as a thirsty man in the open sea drinking salty water The more he drinks, the more he becomes thirsty and wants to drink again Drinking salty water is not the solution for the thirsty man It is the same for a man in life: desiring for senses and things is not the solution for his suffering This is called "desire crisis", or the "inversion of mind" Falling into that "inversion", people often not have any choice other than continuing desiring: their desire becomes so strong that it is understood as the real meaning of life, therefore they see no way out The Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppàda), of the five aggregates (Pancakkhandhà), and of the Four Noble Truths (Cattàri Aryasaccàni) say the same thing: "desire is the cause of suffering", and the way out is the way of ceasing men's desire as the author discussed in (IV.1.5) and (IV.2.1) So, if self-thought ceases, "desire crisis" ceases; if non-self thought operates, "desire crisis" will come to destruction This is the solution for "desire crisis" In addition to the above crises, some other crises are present by the presence of self-thought as showed next Solution for "Heart Crisis" Self-thought tends to give a permanent nature to every existing thing To the love for parents, it gives a name called "filial piety", and defines it as duties done by a daughter or son toward her/his parents If these duties are not performed by her/him, she/he does not deserve being a human being Such is the meaning of "filial piety" suggested by Confucianists To the love for a country, it gives another name called "loyalty", and defines it as duties done by a citizen for her/his country or her/his King If these duties are not realized by her/him, she/he is understood as "unfaithful citizen" who does not deserve being in life Such is the sense of "loyalty" suggested by Confucianists To the love for a sweetheart, it gives a name called "Love," and defines it as an intimate relationship, which requires some duties done for each other If either a husband or wife is unfaithful to the other by any reason, she or he is known as the evil one who does not deserve to exist in life Such is the meaning given to "Love" by Confucianists However, life is very complicated, people sometimes meet with situations in which they can their duty either for their parents, or for their country/king, or just for their husband/wife; in these cases they will be either "un-filial", or "unfaithful", or "un-loyal" and will be too suffering to make a choice, and too suffering to survive These are tragic cases caused by the conception of "filiality" of "loyalty" and of "faithfulness" created by self-thought So, in those cases - many cases happened in the history of the Chinese and Vietnamese the story of "Le Cid" in French literature also is a typical one - people should follow the call of their beautiful heart, but not the call of imaginative conceptions No choice deserves to be made here, because it actually is full of tears This is called a "heart crisis" caused by self-thought With regard to non-self thought, "filiality", "loyalty" or "love" is conditioned and selfless; it must be redefined in an "open sense" how to be very human and very helpful to individuals and their happiness in the present In addition to the above cases, some customs, some social laws, or some disciplines in schools, which may bring tears to men should be revaluated too for happiness of individuals as human beings Solution for "Emotional Crisis" "Heart crisis" mentioned above is caused by reasons outside of man There exists another aspect of "heart crisis" caused by reasons inside of man, by sentimental habitude which is called "emotional crisis." This crisis operates in the following manner: - The current culture created by self-thought strongly influences men's mind: thinking, sensing, feeling, It becomes so intimate to men that it is regarded as reality: people cannot abandon it, or part of it, even when they realize it is wrong, or it is suffering, and realize that there is a better way of life led by non-self thought This event is known as an "emotional inversion" or "emotional crisis" - All values created by that culture also become very close to men although they may bring tears to them very often because of their inversive qualities But people prefer being with them to being with the new - The old way of education is imperfect, but it's very difficult for people to think of a new way and to realize a new way This happens owing to men's "emotional inversion" etc - In the case of a religious a non-Buddhist man, even when he realizes the truth of life, which is different from what he has believed in, he cannot leave his belief for that truth: this also means "emotional inversion" The above "emotional crisis" seems simple but really is a dangerous hindrance of one's mind The solution for it must be the practicing again and again one's regard of wisdom to have new emotion replacing the old Solution for "Morality Crisis" Morality is also a value of life created by man's thinking or selfthought It is understood as the "should do's'' and the "should not do's" for an individual, for his family, community and country which really are the production of man's thinking So, when "thought crisis" appears, "morality crisis" comes into existence "Heart crisis" as mentioned is something of morality, something relating to morality; when "heart crisis" is present, "morality crisis" must exist In another aspect of human society, morality is known as the relationship among human beings in a society; when the sphere of economy is developed fast, that relationship must be changed out of one's mind It is the same, when the policy, or the sphere of politics, in a society is changed, the relationship among men cannot remain as what it is This causes a "morality crisis" If people follow Lord Buddha's teachings on the Eightfold Noble Paths, and consider "morals group" (including right speech, right action and right livelihood) as morality on life, there will never be any "morality crisis" regardless of the change of life This is a right solution for it Morals group is a way of life wearing no label It does not have any meaning of any religion at all, so it may be applied in schools for students without any discrimination Is it right time for education to accept "morals group" as morality of modern schools? Solution for "Environmental Crisis" Environmental crisis is a hot problem people over the world are concerned much about As the author mentioned earlier, environmental crisis is environmental pollutions caused by ionizing radiation, nuclear fission, natural dusts, forest fires, transportation, incineration and other minor sources This is the result of the fast industrial development, as said in the beginning of this work, which is very harmful; it also is the result of the lack of responsibility toward environment of people which may bring mass-destruction to human beings in a very near future So the protection of environment should be done as early as possible For protection, a philosophy and a way of education for environment are needed to arrange lots of things as follows: Educating men to recognize the close relationship between human beings and nature by the doctrine of Dependent Origination or/and the five aggregates, so that they themselves may voluntarily protect environment Explaining to men the terrible dangers caused by pollutions Showing that men's desire for advantages and powers can cause suffering to people Suggesting what to for environmental protection Such a philosophy and education, as the author has displayed through out this work, may be found from the doctrine of Dependent Origination and/or the five aggregates This is solution for "environmental crisis" and for the safety of life on earth Solution for "Educational Crisis" It is very evident that all the above crises are present because of the presence of a cause called "educational crisis" If education is not based on a right concept of personality created by a regard of wisdom, it will lead to a wrong course of transferring empty knowledge's and unsuitable things of education to students, and will bring sufferings to life Dominated by self-thought and selfperception, all standards of value in this education can only create an imaginative world for men to live, but not reality itself What can people expect from this world if not a fateful loss of hope ? What can people expect from economy, politics, competition, , together with desires, ill-will, illusion, hatred, etc if not building up on Earth a colossal market for goods, weapons of mass destruction, etc bringing harms and fears ? If education is based on non-self thought regarding a man as a compounded thing of depend Origination or the five aggregates, but not an entity, education will find a right way for "what to educate" and "how to educate" men: the role of education then is helping persons see what they really are, what the world really is, and get rid of all causes of troubles and sufferings from them for happiness in the here-and-now This is a positive solution for "educational crisis" The above are current crises of human society and solutions for them The history of human kind shows that self-thought of dualism has dominated human culture on Earth over thirty centuries, but the suffering of birth, sickness, old-age, and death caused by men's attachment and craving are still there, contradictions, fights, despairs, harms and fears of human beings more and more increase without solution What can human beings expect from that way of culture? Lord Buddha's teachings recorded in Pali pancanikàya suggest a new way of thought of non-self, which is different from the point of view of other religions and philosophies This way of thought does not regard a human being or the world as an entity having a permanent substance, but as a conditioned and conditioning thing, it may bring human beings happiness in the present and interesting solutions if it is applied in actual life These teachings may be used in modern schools and universities as a major subject of a study branch of philosophy; educational philosophy, educational psychology, educational psychotherapy, or personality theory Why not? -This way of thought, or regard to things, will help education adjust personality theories which are unreal, adjust the educational spirit of competition which harms the spirit of co-operation; it will help students develop independent thought and creativeness, and effectively deal with their problems and troubles in daily life; lastly, it will suggest a standard of value based on happiness of individuals and the commonwealth but not on morality, based on wisdom but not on imaginative knowledge, based on human love and humanness but not on hatred or fighting; etc This is the reason why the author chose the topic entitled "Concept of personality revealed through Pancanikàya" as his Ph D thesis in Buddhist Studies In choosing this topic, he realizes the difficulties in presenting Buddhist doctrine as a way of life and education for worldly people, and the difficulties in persuading others �to accept that way But, difficulty does not mean impossibility, so he comes to persuade himself to proceed with this research work by his belief in the condition of possibility Let the work be tested, he thinks What should come will come References: (1) : E F Schumacher, "Small is Beautiful" An Abacus book, Little Brown an Company (UK), Limited, London, 1993, p.77 (2) : Ibid p.78 (3) : Introduction of "Small is Beautiful" by the Publishing house (4) : Albert Einstein, "Ideas and Opinions" Crown Publishers Inc., 1954, 11th impression, 1993, p.60 (5) : Ibid., p.66 (6) : Bertrand Russell, "Education and the Social Order" Un-winpaper-backs, London, Sydney Wellington, Printed in Great Britain �by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Reprinted 1988, p.21 End Text          Tambao sưu tầm chuyển ebook Hoàn thành 2008/03 ... kỷ hai mươi xây dựng tảng tinh thần cạnh tranh Người phương Tây cho tinh thần giúp họ phát triển nhanh kinh tế văn hóa Nhưng thật gây nhiều khủng hoảng đề cập Thế nên, tinh thần cạnh tranh cần... nhân sinh quan, vũ trụ quan, vấn đề cá nhân, môi sinh giá trị Các vấn đề giữ vai trò định hướng phát triển văn hóa, sốt xét lại chương ‘Dưới ánh sáng Duyên Khởi’ II Nhân sinh quan Vũ trụ quan Khảo... đến tịnh lạc, ngang qua xứ Magadha, theo hướng đến Ưu-lâu-tần-loa, thị trấn quân ngũ Tại đó, Ta thấy dải đất tuyệt đẹp, khu rừng xinh tươi, có sơng trẻo chảy qua, nước cạn qua, ngơi làng gần để