Phương Hoàng Hamilton

Monday, March 24, 2025

My Religion

Đạo Phật

Ai hỏi tui theo đạo nào? Tui theo đạo mà ba má tui theo đó.

Ngày xưa ba má dẫn đi chuà Linh Sơn hay chuà Tàu ĐàLạt mỗi địp Tết. Ba tui còn đưa má tui và đám em về chuà Trùng Khánh ở gần bờ biển Ninh Chữ thăm sư ông là cậu của má. Em của má là cậu Ba còn hay đi chuà và làm bạn với nhiều nhà sư phái khất sĩ.

Ba má tui đi chuà Tàu còn xin "xăm" xem vận hạn cho năm mới từ quẻ xăm đó mà cúng sao Kế đô hay sao Thái bạch mà cúng sao giải hạn xấu thành tốt. Tui từ nhỏ không tin "sao Kế đô không xô cũng té", hay "sao Thái bạch sạch nhà"....chẳng nghe sao tốt gì cả toàn sao đem vận xấu tới. Tốn tiền cúng bái để giải hạn xấu thành vận tốt...đó chỉ là chuyện hảo huyền.

Trong khi đó má tôi- là một y tá- vẫn chữa cho nhiều người hết bệnh và vẫn buôn bán tất bật trong tiệm thuốc của bà, và má còn lo đi chợ nấu nướng lo cho bầy con càng ngày càng đông tới 10 đứa. Cả nhà vẫn khoẻ mạnh.

Cho tới 1976 ba má hết đi chuà xin xăm nhưng đúng là có hai ngôi sao Kế đô và Thái bạch này chiếu rọi tới nhà chúng tôi thật. Tài sản của ba má làm ra mấy chục năm, tiệm thuốc và xe cộ đều không còn gì cả.

Bây giờ nghĩ lại thì thấy đạo Phật đâu có cho xăm đoán vận mệnh và cúng sao giải hạn như ngôi chuà Tàu này.

Lúc nào đi tới chuà cũng thấy Phật Thích ca ngồi trên toà sen uy nghi, các vị Phật khác cũng vậy, rất đẹp và uy nghi. Kinh tụng niệm thì là một ngôn ngữ Hán Việt khó hiểu ý nghiã và còn có những mật ngôn thật huyền bí. Tui học hoài cũng thuộc vài câu nhưng ý nghiã thì hiểu lơ mơ. Thầy ngồi trên cao mặc áo cà sa uy nghiêm trước bàn thờ Phật giảng những bài Phật Pháp hay quá hay.

Đạo Phật quá đẹp rực rỡ trong lòng tôi.

Dạo gần đây có một người tu theo hạnh đầu đà nổi tiếng trên Youtube. Tôi tự hiểu ra là ngày xưa vị thái tử tên Siddhartha Gautama bắt đầu tu tập có lẽ sống như vị sư tu theo hạnh đầu đà Minh Tuệ danh tiếng đó. Đi chân không, đầu trần và chỉ có một y may bằng nhiều mảnh vải nhiều màu và 1 cái bát. Sư ăn ngày 1 bửa thôi. Dọc đường sư đi qua ban đêm sẽ ngủ nghĩ ở hang , nghiã địa, công viên hay rừng cây....

Đức Phật ngày xưa cũng chỉ đi bộ rất xa từ nơi này sang nơi khác ở Ấn Độ để hành đạo. Ngày xưa ấy có lẽ là không có tu viện to lớn để đ́ức Phật ngồi trên toà sen sáng chói như trong các ngôi chuà đẹp như từ nhỏ tới nay tôi trông thấy đâu nhỉ. Tôi nghĩ ngài và tăng đoàn cũng có lúc sống như tăng đoàn của sư Minh Tuệ hôm nay.

Nam Mô Bổn Sư Thích Ca Mâu Ni Phật.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!

"My religion" - Buddhism

Who asked me which religion I follow? I follow the religion that my parents followed.

In the past, my parents took me to Linh Sơn Pagoda or Da Lat Chinese Pagoda every Tết holiday. My father also took my mother and my siblings to Trùng Khánh Pagoda near Ninh Chữ beach to visit my mother's uncle. My mother's younger brother, Ba, often went to the pagoda and made friends with many monks of the mendicant sect.

My parents went to the Chinese pagoda to ask for fortune telling for the new year, from which they prayed to the Kế đô or Thái Bạch stars to change bad luck into good luck. Since I was little, I didn't believe in "the Kế đô star will make you fall without being pushed", or "the Thái Bạch star will clean the house".... I've never heard of any good stars, only stars that bring bad luck. Spending money on worshiping to change bad luck into good luck...that 's a myth.

Meanwhile, my mother-who was a nurse- still cured many people of their illnesses and was still busy doing business in her pharmacy, and shopping foods, cooking and taking care of her growing number of children, up to 10. The whole family was still healthy.

Until 1976, my parents stopped going to the temple to ask for fortune-telling, but it was true that these two stars Kế đô and Thái Bạch were shining on our house. My parents' assets, which they worked for decades, the pharmacy and the cars, were all gone.

Now that I think about it, Buddhism does not allow fortune-telling and star worship to ward off bad luck like this Chinese temple.

Whenever I go to the temple, I see Buddha Sakyamuni sitting on a majestic lotus throne, the same goes for the other Buddhas, very beautiful and majestic. The chanting is in a Sino-Vietnamese language that is difficult to understand the meaning and there are also very mysterious secret words. I have studied for a long time and memorized a few sentences but the meaning is vague. The monk sits high up in a majestic cassock in front of the Buddha altar, preaching wonderful Buddhist teachings.

Buddhism is so beautiful and radiant in my heart.

Recently, there is a person who practices the ascetic practice that is famous on Youtube. I realized that in the past, the prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who began his practice, probably lived like the famous ascetic monk Minh Tuệ. He walked barefoot, bareheaded, and had only one robe made from many pieces of colorful cloth and a bowl. He ate only one meal a day. Along the way, he would sleep at night in caves, cemeteries, parks, or forests....

The Buddha in the past also only walked very far from one place to another in India to practice. In the past, there probably weren't any large monasteries for the Buddha to sit on a shining lotus throne like in the beautiful temples that I've seen since I was little. I think he and his monks also lived like the monks of Minh Tuệ today.

Namo Bổn Sư Thích Ca Mâu Ni Phật.

Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu!

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Old Photos

Old photos

Looking back at the photos my cousin sent, I remembered my mother's younger brother. Both of my mother's younger brothers and my mother have gone to heaven to reunite with our grandparents.

I remember my father, when we were in 3rd and 4th grade, every summer, my parents let me and my younger brother stay at my uncle and aunt's house for a month so that he could tutor us in math, practice writing short essays, and write correct Vietnamese spelling. My uncle and aunt took care of the children like their own children. That's why our family love has developed until now.

When school was off in the summer, my father took the opportunity to drive us all to my maternal and paternal hometowns.

We only went out for a few days, but those trips created for my sisters, brothers and me beautiful memories of our grandparents' hometowns and our paternal and maternal relatives.

These memories nurtured our love for our homeland and family.

Thank you, parents.

Những tấm ảnh cũ xưa

Xem lại những tấm ảnh của em họ gởi, tôi nhớ lại em của má mình. cả hai cậu em của má tôi và má tôi đã về thiên đường sum họp với ông bà.

Tôi nhớ ba mình, ngày xưa lúc học lớp 3 và lớp 4, mỗi muà hè, ba má tôi cho tôi và em trai qua nhà cậu mợ Bốn ở chơi cả tháng để cậu dạy kèm toán, tập viết bài văn ngắn, viết chính tả tiếng Việt cho đúng. Cậu mợ đã chăm sóc các cháu như con mình. Vì vậy mà tình thương gia đình phát triển mãi cho tới bây giờ.

Muà hè được nghỉ học ba tôi lại nhân dịp nghỉ lái xe chở hết chúng tôi về quê ngoại và quê nội.

Chúng tôi đi chơi vài ngày thôi, nhưng những chuyến đi đó tạo cho chị em chúng tôi ký ức tột đẹp về quê hương ông bà và bà con họ hàng bên nội và bên ngoại.

Những kỷ niệm này nuôi lớn tình thương quê hương và gia tộc.

Tạ ơn cha mẹ.

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Memorial Temple

These days, I keep missing a temple, a temple that holds many family memories.

When I was little, my father used to put all the children in an old Jeep Wagon from Dalat, drive through Trai Mat, through the spectacular Ngoan Muc pass, through Don Duong, down to Phan Rang to Ninh Chu beach to go swimming.

My father took us to Trung Khanh temple. The abbot was my grandmother's younger brother, we went to worship Buddha, stayed for a vegetarian meal. In the afternoon, we returned to Dalat. We left in the morning and returned home in the afternoon. And many times, my father took us like that.

The monk has gone to Buddha's land, he lies in the tower next to the temple.

My grandmother has also gone to heaven, my parents have too.

My mother told me that when she was little girl, her uncle, a monk, went to pray here and there, often brought back cakes for his sister's children to eat, and also gave them money. My mother concluded that "eating food from the common people was very heavy because being a vegetarian and chanting sutras and reciting Buddha's name will never be enough to pay off the common people debt." Is that true???

I remember my parents had a very close acquaintance for many years, Ms. Nuoi. One day, when she passed by my parents' house, it was raining so she stopped by to take shelter from the rain. She was on her way home after doing volunteer work at Linh Son Pagoda near my house. She happily told me about doing volunteer work and chanting sutras and after cleaning up the kitchen, she asked for some leftover rice from the kitchen to bring home. She opened the bag that she was holding, took out a lump of white rice and gave it to me, saying "Eat this little bit of Buddha's blessing rice to enjoy some of Buddha's blessing". She wanted to share some of the blessing, calling it "Buddha's blessing", and tried to feed me a little bit to gain merit. At first, I was embarrassed and shook my head, but she smiled and encouraged me to eat with her while eating so that I would have merit with her. I was also shy and reluctant to eat a bite, she also took out the rice from the package and ate it deliciously, then she continued to peel the "Buddha's blessing" orange and gave me half of it. The orange was so sweet, it was like drinking the nectar of Buddha. Eating some leftover rice from the temple kitchen, "drinking" some sweet orange juice, joy spread throughout the space that afternoon. I will never forget her happy smile that day.

We were loved by the monk's grand uncle for many years. The monk's blessing was also many good books in the temple library for me to read at that time. The good memory I remember is that I was blessed to have parents, grandparents, and relatives of my parents who are also great and enlightened beings who are respected.

I pray that the Buddhas of the ten directions bless all the seniors to be at peace in nirvana.

Thank you.

Friday, February 21, 2025

Ngôi Chuà Kỷ Niệm

Chuà Kỷ Niệm

Mấy ngày nay cứ nhớ một ngôi chuà, ngôi chuà mang nhiều kỷ niệm gia đình.

Lúc nhỏ ba tôi hay bỏ hết đám con lóc nhóc lên chiếc xe Jeep Wagon cũ kỷ từ Đàlạt chạy qua Trại Mát, qua đèo ngoạn Mục, qua Đơn dương, xuống Phan Rang tới bờ biển Ninh Chữ đi tắm biển.

Ba chở chúng tôi tới ngôi chuà Trùng Khánh. Vị sư trú trì là em của bà ngoại, chúng tôi vào lễ Phật, ở lại ăn cơm chay. Buổi chiều lại quay về ĐàLạt. Đi buổi sáng rồi về nhà buổi chiều. Và nhiều lần chúng tôi được ba mình chở đi như vậy.

Vị sư ngày xưa đã về cõi Phật, ngài nằm trong cái tháp bên hông chuà.

Bà ngoại cũng đã về thiên đường, ba má tôi cũng vậy.

Má tôi kể với tôi rằng ngày xưa còn bé ông cậu thầy tu đi cúng nơi này nơi kia thường đem oản về cho cháu ăn, còn phát tiền cho các cháu. Má tôi kết luận "ăn của bá tánh là nặng nề lắm vì ăn chay tụng kinh niệm Phật cả đời không hết nợ đó con." Thật vậy sao???

Tôi nhớ ba má tôi có người quen thân rất thân thuộc nhiều năm là chị Nuôi. Có hôm đó chị đi ngang nhà cha mẹ tôi thì trời đổ mưa nên chị ghé vào trú mưa, chị đang trên đường về sau khi làm công quả trong chuà Linh Sơn gần nhà tôi ở. Chị vui vẻ kể chuyện làm công quả tụng kinh và sau khi dọn dẹp trong bếp chị xin chút cơm thưà trong bếp đem về. Chị mở cái túi đang cầm bốc ra một cục cơm trắng đưa cho tôi và nói " ăn c̣hút cơm lộc Phật này cho hưởng chút lộc Phật" . Chị muốn chia xẻ chút lộc gọi là "lộc Phật" còn cố đút cho tôi ăn chút cho có phước. Lúc đầu tôi mắc cở lắc đầu thì chị cười vừa ăn vừa khuyến khích tôi ăn theo chị cho có phước với chị. Tôi cũng ngại ngùng miễn cưỡng ăn một miếng, chị cũng bốc tiếp cơm trong gói ra ăn ngon lành hết gói cơm, rồi chị tiếp tục lột quả cam "lộc Phật" cho tôi một nữa quả. Cam thật ngọt, đúng là được uống nước cam lồ của Phật. Ăn chút cơm thừa từ nhà bếp chuà, "uống" chút nước cam ngọt mà hoan hỷ lan toả trong không gian chiều hôm đó. Tôi không bao giờ quên nụ cười tươi hạnh phúc của chị hôm đó.

Chúng tôi đã được ông cậu thầy tu yêu thương nhiều năm. Lộc Phật của sư ông còn là nhiều cuốn sách hay trong thư viện chuà cho riêng tôi đọc lúc đó nữa. Kỷ niệm tốt đẹp nhớ lại là tôi đã có phước nên có cha mẹ ông bà và những người thân thuộc bà con của cha mẹ cũng là những bậc đại trí đại giác được kính trọng.

Cầu xin mười phương chư Phật độ trì cho tất cả các tiền bối được bình an trong cõi niết bàn.

Tạ ơn.