Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Let’s talk about heaven and hell in our heart.

If you look at children, you see heaven – children are always happy, innocent and playing.

We adults experience fears, worries, sorrow and anger, and we often find ourselves fighting, grabbing (chụp giật), and grasping (chấp), which leads to us being stressed all the time. That is hell.

Thus, Jesus said, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).

Our heart, most of the time, is a hellish place. That is why Buddha says, “Life is suffering.” The most fundamental Buddhist teaching is the Four Nobel Truths (Tứ Diệu Đế): Suffering, Cause of Suffering, End of Suffering, Path to End Suffering – Khổ, Tập, Diệt, Đạo. “Life is suffering” is the first and most fundamental Nobel Truth.

So, if we want heaven, be like children.

That means, we don’t learn anything new, but we must unlearn all the garbage we have learned in our adult life – tham sân si (greed, hatred, ignorance), arrogancy, lying, stealing, grabbing, grasping… and let our heart be pure like little children.

When our heart is pure like little children, heaven is in our heart, and we also see God.

Be like little children.

With compassion,

Hoành

© copyright 2024
Trần Đình Hoành
Permitted for non-commercial use
www.dotchuoinon.com