LIVE PEACEFULLY
THOUGH LIFE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL AS A DREAM
Thich Nu Gioi Huong
INTRODUCTION
Buddhism has two wings: compassion and wisdom (love and understanding). Compassion means to give happiness, kindness means to release suffering. As a result of deep understanding, wisdom arises that gives love to people. Thus, the liberated message of the Buddha is to realize suffering, transform suffering, experience peace, and give peace.
His philosophy has been proclaimed for more than two thousand six hundred years and still has great practical value for mankind. This booklet mentions some ways that the Blessed One has guided us to focus on building a peaceful and happy life. Such methods include living a moral life, less defilements, always thinking of other people more than ourselves, and giving without the need to be appreciated. Dhamma practice is the opportunity and also the responsibility to create a happy world, to avoid hurting yourself and others and always recognizing mistakes and confessing our wrongdoings. These are thoughts that lead to words and actions that are spiritually upstream. These are also practical strategies to increase a peaceful life for ourselves and others presented by Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương during a retreat at Giác Ngộ Temple, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.
We rejoice in introducing readers near and far to the Dhamma and invite corrections and comments from our readers to be incorporated into future printings.
By the way, we also would like to gratefully acknowledge with special thanks Bhikkhunī Viên Quang, Bhikkhunī Liên Hiếu, and Pamela C. Kirby (English editors who worked as my assistants for English translating, proofreading, design, and publication).
Best Regards.
Winter in Perris City, 2019
Hương Sen Press, USA
LIVE PEACEFULLY
THOUGH LIFE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL AS A DREAM
According to Buddhist scriptures, what kind of suffering are we facing? The Buddha taught that there are eight sufferings all human beings must face, including "unfulfilled dreams.” Because of this, we see that life is not as beautiful as we would wish. In fact, life is not as beautiful as a dream because we feel hopeless when we can’t get what we want. However, the nature of life is not so; it is good and filled with challenges to the positive person.
No matter if life is beautiful or not, it is important how our mind interacts with life. Therefore, the purpose of this booklet is to help you to live positively and peacefully, even if life is not as beautiful as you expected. In other words, if each one of us knows how to apply and promote the Buddha's teachings, we will comprehend how to transform pain, how to accept, how to deal with the unreasonable things in life with peace. So how we can live peacefully?
Yes, humans in this life want to live peacefully, to avoid suffering basically. And according to the Buddha's teachings, the suffering of beings are many thousands. There are eight sufferings: birth, old age, sickness, death, wanting to be satisfied, being separated from what we love, and having to meet with those whom we hate. The Buddha taught in the First Noble Truth[1] that clinging to the aggregates, the constituents of our experience (form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness) causes suffering:
“What is the Noble Truth of suffering? Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, sickness is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not getting what one wants is suffering. In short the five categories affected by clinging are suffering.”
The way to end suffering is to first accept the fact that suffering is actually a fact of life.The topic of this book relates to the seventh of the eight sufferings, failing to get what we want, so we feel life is not a happy dream.
There is a saying: "Mind is stillness in the variable flow of life." Yes, that is the immutable spirit of Buddhism. Thanks to this spirit, the Buddha lives peacefully in the midst of the life stream. There are many ways to live peacefully:
- Less defilements
- Always think of other people more than yourself.
- Give without the need to be acknowledged.
- Dhamma practice is the opportunity and the responsibility for creating a good and happy world.
- Do not hurt yourself or others.
- Always recognize mistakes and apologize for mistakes you make.
- LESS DEFILEMENTS
The basic defilements are greed, hatred, and ignorance. A peaceful life is a heart without or less sadness, resentment, hatred, and jealousy. We always keep a happy meditative heart as light as the flying clouds. Let your spirit be empty of anger and resentment.A peaceful day means a day without defilements.
This story illustrates the concept:
One day, a bhikkhuni abbess brought a lot of plastic bags and potatoes to the table. She said to her nun disciples, "Close your eyes and ask yourselves: If your mind starts to hate sister A, sister B, if you are angry or resentful of the nuns at the temple, or if you do not forgive, or are jealous, you must write the name of each person you are having problems with on a potato and put it in a plastic bag. If you dislike ten people, please write ten names on ten potatoes and put them in a bag. This means you are putting your hate and anger inside the ten potatoes.
In the Surangama Sutra, the Buddha said that “Straightness is the bodhi place,” so we must be truthful about our faults, be honest about our sick reasonings, then the physician can cure our disease. If we make an honest list of the people we are angry with, our bag might be heavy and full of potatoes. Sometimes there is not even room in one bag and we must add one, two, three more bags. Later, the bhikhuni abbess asked the nuns to carry that bag of potatoes with them wherever they went for a week. Wherever they went, taking a bus, going to the market, going home, going to bed, even when having fun at friend’s birthday, they must bring these potato bags with them. As a result, after only a short time, they began to feel tired and troubled because there was always a bag of heavy potatoes next to them. This situation is even worse when the potatoes began to rot, drip, sprout, and stink.
Finally, at some point, they decided to throw all the potatoes away. Without the heavy load of hate, they began to feel comfortable, unburdened, and enjoyed a gentle state. The resentment, jealousy, and hatred made them heavy, unsettled, and miserable. The more we hate and do not forgive others, the more we hold the unpleasant burden in our hearts. Therefore, the peaceful mind is the most easeful state in human life.
The Buddha said, "The five aggregates are impermanent, dependent-origination, non-self."[2] So, if anyone speaks badly about us, we contemplate the gossips as a blowing wind and we are not troubled by the gossip. If we focus on the rumors, this will only make our mind more confused. Just calm down and try not to be disturbed, and the truth will be exposed as time passes.
There is a saying, "If someone humiliates you, it means they are the ones with ugly thoughts, not you; they bring shame only to themselves!" When we are angry at someone or just angry at life, this is our own making and we should not blame anyone else. Today, after attending this peaceful retreat, let go of the "burdens" in your heart, letting it heart be free so we have space in our mind to receive dharma. Then, if we are always mindful and bright we will enjoy life.
When we were born, we cried with two empty hands. When we die, we will leave life with our two empty hands. We cannot bring anything other than our karma. However, greed, anger, and defilements rooted in ignorance have caused us to exist for a long time in the world of samsara. When we exist, we will continue to keep on grasping, burdening, afflicting, and suffering; we do not know how to get out of the rebirth. Sympathy, altruism, forgiveness, being free from anger, loving and caring for others is the best way to lead a happy peaceful life. This is a priceless gift we give other persons and ourselves.
- ALWAYS THINK OF OTHER PEOPLE MORE THAN OURSELVES
The writer Hellen Keller once said, "I cried because there were no shoes to wear until I saw someone with no feet."
Indeed, we are embarrassed to see other people who have things that we do not have. Some girls have nice hair, beautiful shoes, but we do not realize there are many unlucky people around us. Therefore, before we become jealous, full of sorrow, depressed, complaining about ourselves, with our life, we should look closely at people around us. As a Vietnamese folk song says, "Looking up, we have not gained as much as others, but looking down in society, we are happier and more blessed than some others."
For instance, if you are not satisfied with your hair; it is not as beautiful as others or your shoes do not fit and aren’t as nice as your friend’s, then you must think about the cancer patients who have lost their hair, or those who are handicapped without legs and arms.
If your car breaks down, you might feel tired and frustrated because you had to walk a few miles to find help, then you should remember paralysis victims.
Compared to those people, we feel extremely lucky and happy to be walking on our own legs. Thanks to our legs, we can walk wherever we want.
We must know how to respect our bodies and if our legs get tired on the road, we should not be discouraged and annoyed because somewhere in the world there are many people who would love to walk like us.
If you feel you are lost and you wonder about the meaning of human life, then you should look around. There are many people who have no opportunity to experience youth as you. So, lets be grateful for this life, because you still have the opportunity to see the sunshine of a new day. Do not think that you are unlucky in this life. Instead, you should always cherish every moment you breathe and exist in this life.
If you feel that you are the victim of harshness or corruption, then you should remember that there are many people in life who are worse off. So, please do not look up to compare; try to look down in society to see how fortunate you are.
With such a contemplation, we recognize that our suffering is nothing and see that we are more fortunate and happier than many. Let the narrow mind and measurement no longer exist in each person. Being so, we live peacefully even though life is not as beautiful as we would wish.
When we nurture and increase compassion, of course anger and jealousy no longer exist.
"Thank you life for every morning we wake up
We have more days to love . . ."
Yes, the Buddha’s disciples have the good will to engage in life. We cannot be indifferent to the suffering of human beings. This kind of conduct is difficult, but if it originates from true compasion, a love without calculation, it will be successful, because when the mind is no longer indifferent, it will be filled with kindness and care. And when the Buddha's disciples give such a love to others, their practices and virtues are truly fulfilled.
- 3. GIVING WITHOUT THE NEED TO BE APPRECIATED
According to Buddhism, doing a favor for someone without need for appreciation is called the perfection of generosity (dānaparamatthapāramī). This is one of six paramitas (perfections), the six conducts of a bodhisattva who devotes himself or herself for the sake of many.
A story of a blind woman illustrates this: A woman caught a taxi and when she reached her destination, the clock on the taxi showed the time of arrival with a bill of $100.00. The driver had sympathy for the blind woman’s situation, so he told her, "I do not take your money, because it is easier for me to earn money than you." At that time, there was a businessman from a nearby company waiting for the taxi as the blind women got off. In the car on the way out, both men were chatting. At the next stop, the clock showed the miles and charge was also $100. The businessman took out $200 and said, "This amount pays for the blind woman, as well as for me. I am not a rich man, but I think it is a bit easier for me to earn money than you. I wish for to you continue to do good for others."
Another interesting story concerns a young man whose car stalled during a snowstorm. He was worried about being stuck, but at that exact moment, a man passed by, saw the young man’s situation and used his horse to pull the stalled car to a small town nearby. After that, the young man felt relieved and grateful to the stranger who had helped him and offered him a large sum of money. The stranger refused the money and said," I helped you without need of your money or gratitude. I just want you to promise me one thing: whenever you see anyone in need, take time to help them.” The young man took this advice and became a good person, always finding a way to help others in need. Each time the young man helped someone, he would do the same as the stranger—refusing gifts, money, or gratitude.
Many years later, the young man who had been helped encountered a flood on an island and was rescued by someone who risked his life to save him. When the young man expressed his appreciation, the person responded in the same manner as the stranger in the snowstorm. He said," I helped you without the need of your money or gratitude. I just want you to promise me one thing: whenever you see someone in need, take time to help them.” The young man felt joy and comfort at the words and realized that his compassion and kindess had come full circle and had spread to many people. All good things we have done in this lifetime will return to us.
If you bypass those who have hardship and are in need of help, and do not spread your kindness and compassion to others, life will lose its meaning. The Buddha taught that before becoming a great person (bodhisattva), you must first become a good person. To be a good person, you must be moral. Your moral lifestyle will determine if you lead a life with harmony, love, and compassion. We display a Buddhist disciple’s way of life by spreading compassion and kindess to others, so they can live a pleasant and beautiful life. If we all live that way, we can gradually obtain enlightenment and make the earth into a pure land. According to the spirit of the Buddha's teaching, the pure land or nirvana is not a magical distant world or realm after death. When the human mind is not reigned over by greed, anger, ignorance, and defilements, then the pureness is here, nirvana is here.
- DHAMMA PRACTICE IS THE OPPORTUNITY AND ALSO THE RESPONSIBILITY TO CREATE A HAPPY WORLD
Nowadays, science and technology are developing more and more to help people maintain a comfortable life, but the side consequences are incomprehensible. The most worrying thing is the moral degradation of the young generation in a modern society. In other words, human morality is inversely proportional to the rapid development of science and technology. Therefore, those who live in rightfulness will worry when the norms of morality are neglected or forgotten. Buddhism is the ultimate truth to solve this present problem. Therefore, practicing the Buddha's teachings is very necessary.
Indeed, cultivating the dharma helps each one gain an inner peace. When the heart is at peace, we face and deal with people and work with mindfulness. It means when the mind is no longer lost in defilements, is without fighting or jealousy, we receive, contact, and share with others. We are tolerant and approach others with love, selflessness, forgiveness. As a result, life will be less painful and the world will be peaceful. There is a saying, “If the mind balances, the world will balance.”
Who sows good seed
They gain sweet fruit
Who nourishes compassion
They are pleasant.
Yes, compassion is the spritual component leading to lasting love. This is selfless love in the spirit of the Buddha, a full compassion not diminished by the impurity in life. To have that lasting compassion, each person needs to sow good seeds in their mind, and cultivate dharma to transform the suffering of ourselves and others. Then, the good seeds will sprout and give sweet fruit. Compassion always brings happiness to oneself and to human life.
According to common opinion, happiness is a high position, authority, property, fame, beauty, and so on. To the Buddhist view, this is not true happiness. The happiness of the Buddhist cultivator is the serenity and peacefulness in the body and mind of each person. A peaceful mind is the one that maintains balance, remains detached, and is not lost in desire We should acccept and be content with the reality of our lives as the Buddha taught in the Discourse on the Eight Realizations of the Great Beings:
More greed is more suffering
Tired by birth and death
Due to this desire
Less desire doing nothing
Mind and body are tranquil.
Humans in the world are full of suffering due to attachment and craving. Only those living with less desire will have a mind and body of repose. This is the Buddha's teaching. It is so simple but has a great effect! However, there are not many people in the world who can do that. Owing to ignorance and wrong view, greed for the world arises and binds us to the life cycle.
Owing to ignorance, craving arises.
Due to self-attachment, the rebirth goes on.
Therefore, those who study and practice the Buddha's teachings are happy here and now. In other words, they know how to live peacefully, know how to live in dharma and with that inner energy, the Buddha’s disciples always walk the course of life with a tranquil mind.
- AVOID HURTING YOURSELF AND OTHERS
In the midst of the hustle and bustle of life, how many times have we wondered why we are suffering and why do we make others suffer? Because I do not get what I want, I suffer. Because you are luckier than me or you hurt me, I must also cause you suffering. This is something that a Buddhist disciple needs to have the right view about to avoid tormenting ourselves and others. So, where does suffering come from?
We torment ourselves because we are not content with what we have, we do not find the meaning of life, and do not know how to change the adversity. The learners of the Buddha's teachings are finding a way to change adversity and accept the reality of life.
We torment others because we have jealousy, greed, and hatred. Only the compassion of Buddhism helps us alleviate the pain for ourselves and all others. Therefore, to be peaceful in life we must know how to give up self-views and attachment to the world around us.
In the Śūraṃgama Samādhi Sūtra, the Buddha taught Anan how to stand alone and avoid attaching to the worldly objects outside. Anan must have had the internal meditative strength and bodhi power. Life is a combination of feelings: sadness, happiness, suffering, joy, betrayal, up, down, sweet success, bitternesss of failure, and so on. The level of emotion is due to our illusion. Therefore, the Buddha’s disciples who know the spiritual practice are always are content with reality. With mindfulness, they transform the body and mind and live in harmony with the people around them.
Therefore, to live peacefully is an art of human life. We all have existed in a dependent condition, as Zen Master Thích Minh Niệm said:
You are still in me
Likewise, I am forever in you
Little jealousy is weak
Making our brothership fade.
Yes, we torture and cause suffering because we have the wrong view on "self" and “self attachment.” While the Buddha teaches that all phenomena are impermanent, have the "self" and “self attachment” really existed forever? Therefore, what we consider to be ours is just an entity of causation that is also impermanent and selfless. However, owing to ignorance, human beings wrongly perceivee this body as their real body. “This is mine” is a result of the illusional consciouness where we think “it’s my real mind and the environment is my real world.” This wrong view continuously causes suffering for both us and other persons. Therefore, the Buddha's disciples must have the right view about all things, so that the illusional distinction no longer exists, so that the darkness of ignorance does not survive in this life.
- ALWAYS RECOGNIZE MISTAKES AND CONFESS OUR WRONGDOING
Who lives in the world without mistakes? It is important for each person to acknowledge and apologize. This is a living art, a living philosophy that benefits both us and human life.
There is an ancient teaching: "Seriously apologize to grow up maturely, because every saint has a past and every sinner will have a bright future." This saying gives us a strong belief that each one of us can become great and no one is without mistakes.
Indeed, human beings in life have never existed without mistakes. But the important thing that creates the personality of each person is the attitude of comprehending and apologizing. If we make mistakes, either accidentally or on purpose, we should take responsibility and confess. Then, we will feel light and sleep well. So how do we apologize?
Confession is not just recognizing the fault and apologizing, but also the way we take responsibility for our lives through our attitude towards others. In other words, being sorry is the attitude of correcting mistakes to appease, to dissolve hatred caused by someone so that people can find a common voice. But above all, apologizing is the way to let go of the self, giving equal love to people so that humanity can live together in peace, care, and happiness. Confession is also the opportunity to help people learn the good and stay away from the bad things to improve day by day. There is an interesting fable about a crack earthenware pot:
One time, a person had a job carrying water from the river to the house of customer. Each day, he would fill two earthenware pots with water and set them on each side of a wooden yoke and walked to the house. One of earthenware pots was cracked, so after setting on the porch all day, the cracked earthenware pot was only half full, while the other pot looked fine and was full of water. For two years, this same thing occurred every day. Of course, the uncracked pot held the water and was proud of its fulfillment, while the cracked earthenware pot felt ashamed and unhappy with its shortcoming. The cracked pot felt pain and sorrow, because it can only get half of the work done. For two years, it had to endure its limited capacity.
One day, the cracked earthenware pot talked to the water carrier. It said, "I am so embarrassed because my side is cracked so I leak water on the long road home." The carrier answered: "Do you not see many flowers growing up on your side of the road leading to your home? I have always known that you were cracked and had shortcomings, so I threw flower seeds down at your side on the way back home. Since then, every day on the way home you have watered those seeds. For the past two years I have been picking pretty flowers and placing them in a vase on the table. If you had not been broken, then the house would not have so many flowers to enjoy.”
Everyone in life has at one time had a crack like the earthenware pot. However, it is the shortcomings that makes our life great and interesting. Each of us has imperfections in life, but in other situations, those shortcomings can turn into joyful events for many.
So, we all must learn how to accept everyone's defects and personality and try to find the good things in them. In doing so, we can live in harmony with others, even though life is not as beautiful as we would like.
This peaceful retreat day is organized by the temple—one day we step through the meditative gate, leaving behind fame, high position, rumosr, to receive the Buddha's teachings. This is a chance for us to be close to the virtuous masters, the good religious friends, to live in equal love, to share experiences with fellow practitioners so that each person can transform themselves. Even though it is only a day of practice, it is a precious medicine that helps us to change ourselves, perfect ourselves, and contribute to the beauty of life. In other words, when the inner mind is calm, suffering is pushed away and we reach the place of happiness and transquility. The darkness will be replaced by the light of truth, liberation, and wisdom as the Buddha taught us, "You turn on the spiritual torch by yourselves."
The Buddha's teachings are always the truth for anyone who wants to live a pleasant life. The truth shows that whoever, whether beautiful or ugly, wealthy or poor, reputation or unknown in this life, finally he or she inevitably dies. But death is not frightening; it does not make us more miserable when we exist without gaining anything in this life. Therefore, the value of a person in life, no matter if the life is long or short, the importance thing is the way we benefit ourselves and the people around us. So as long as we exist, we should learn the Buddha's teachings, open our heart, and give equal compasion, sympathy, and share with those around us who are miserable. Then, the compasion is forever present in this world. Once life is full of compasion and insight, it naturally turns to be the pure land. As a result, we live transquil in the stream of reincarnation and fulfil our Bodhi attentiveness. When once our mind is calm, we realize the happiness that inherent in the simple things in life.
Smiling, look at the flowers
Suspicion disappears
Happiness is here.
We wasted a long time to find it.
Therefore, let us diligently study dharma; engage ourselves in serving to bring peace to ourselves and everyone!
The lecture of Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Hương
for the 28th Peaceful Retreat
on September 17, 2017, at Giác Ngộ Temple, Sài Gòn
BẢO ANH LẠC BOOKSHELF
TỦ SÁCH BẢO ANH LẠC
do Ni Sư Tiến Sĩ TN Giới Hương biên soạn
- SÁCH TIẾNG VIỆT
- Bồ-tát và Tánh Không Trong Kinh Tạng Pali và Đại Thừa.
- Ban Mai Xứ Ấn -Tuyển tập các Tiểu Luận Phật Giáo (3 tập).
- Vườn Nai – Chiếc Nôi.
- Quy Y Tam Bảo và Năm Giới.
- Vòng Luân Hồi.
- Hoa Tuyết Milwaukee.
- Luân Hồi trong Lăng Kính Lăng Nghiêm.
- Nghi Thức Hộ Niệm, Cầu Siêu.
- Quan Âm Quảng Trần.
- Nữ Tu và Tù Nhân Hoa Kỳ.
- Nếp Sống Tỉnh Thức của Đức Đạt Lai Lạt Ma Thứ XIV.
- A-Hàm: Mưa pháp chuyển hóa phiền não, 2 tập.
- Góp Từng Hạt Nắng Perris.
- Pháp Ngữ của Kinh Kim Cang.
- Tập Thơ Nhạc Nắng Lăng Nghiêm.
- Nét Bút Bên Song Cửa.
- Máy Nghe MP3 Hương Sen (Hương Sen Digital Mp3 Radio Speaker): Các Bài Giảng, Sách, Bài viết và Thơ Nhạc của Thích Nữ Giới Hương (383/201 bài).
- DVD Giới Thiệu về Chùa Hương Sen.
- Ni Giới Việt Nam Hoằng Pháp tại Hoa Kỳ.
- Tuyển Tập 40 Năm Tu Học & Hoằng Pháp của Ni sư Giới Hương, Thích Nữ Viên Quang, TN Viên Nhuận, TN Viên Tiến, and TN Viên Khuông.
- Tập Thơ Nhạc Lối Về Sen Nở.
- Nghi Thức Công Phu Khuya – Thần Chú Thủ Lăng Nghiêm.
- Nghi Thức Cầu An – Kinh Phổ Môn.
- Nghi Thức Cầu An – Kinh Dược Sư.
- Nghi Thức Sám Hối Hồng Danh.
- Nghi Thức Công Phu Chiều – Mông Sơn Thí Thực.
- Khóa Tịnh Độ – Kinh A Di Đà.
- Nghi Thức Cúng Linh và Cầu Siêu.
- Nghi Lễ Hàng Ngày - 50 Kinh Tụng và các Lễ Vía trong Năm.
- Hương Đạo Trong Đời 2022 - Tuyển tập 60 Bài Thi trong Cuộc Thi Viết Văn Ứng Dụng Phật Pháp 2022.
- Hương Pháp 2022 (Tuyển Tập Các Bài Thi Trúng Giải Cuộc Thi Viết Văn Ứng Dụng Phật Pháp 2022).
- Giới Hương - Thơm Ngược Gió Ngàn, Nguyên Hà.
- Pháp Ngữ Kinh Hoa Nghiêm (2 tập).
- Tinh Hoa Kinh Hoa Nghiêm. Thích Nữ Giới Hương. NXB Hương Sen.
- Phật Giáo – Tầm Nhìn Lịch Sử Và Thực Hành. Hiệu đính: Thích Hạnh Chánh và Thích Nữ Giới Hương.
- Nhật ký Hành Thiền Vipassana và Kinh Tứ Niệm Xứ.
- Nghi cúng Giao Thừa.
- Nghi cúng Rằm Tháng Giêng.
- Nghi thức Lễ Phật Đản.
- Nghi thức Vu Lan.
- Lễ Vía Quan Âm.
- Nghi cúng Thánh Tổ Kiều Đàm Di.
- Nghi thức cúng Tổ và Giác linh Sư trưởng.
- SÁCH TIẾNG ANH
- Boddhisattva and Sunyata in the Early and Developed Buddhist Traditions.
- Rebirth Views in the Śūraṅgama Sūtra.
- Commentary of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva.
- The Key Words in Vajracchedikā Sūtra.
- Sārnātha-The Cradle of Buddhism in the Archeological View.
- Take Refuge in the Three Gems and Keep the Five Precepts.
- Cycle of Life.
- Forty Years in the Dharma: A Life of Study and Service—Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương.
- Sharing the Dharma -Vietnamese Buddhist Nuns in the United States.
- A Vietnamese Buddhist Nun and American Inmates.
- Daily Monastic Chanting.
- Weekly Buddhist Discourse Chanting.
- Practice Meditation and Pure Land.
- The Ceremony for Peace.
- The Lunch Offering Ritual.
- The Ritual Offering Food to Hungry Ghosts.
- The Pureland Course of Amitabha Sutra.
- The Medicine Buddha Sutra.
- The New Year Ceremony.
- The Great Parinirvana Ceremony.
- The Buddha’s Birthday Ceremony.
- The Ullambana Festival (Parents’ Day).
- The Marriage Ceremony.
- The Blessing Ceremony for The Deceased.
- The Ceremony Praising Ancestral Masters.
- The Enlightened Buddha Ceremony.
- The Uposatha Ceremony (Reciting Precepts)
- Buddhism: A Historical And Practical Vision. Edited by Ven. Dr. Thich Hanh Chanh and Ven. Dr. Bhikṣuṇī TN Gioi Huong.
- Contribution of Buddhism For World Peace & Social Harmony. Edited by Ven. Dr. Buddha Priya Mahathero and Ven. Dr. Bhikṣuṇī TN Gioi Huong.
- Global Spread of Buddhism with Special Reference to Sri Lanka. Buddhist Studies Seminar in Kandy University. Edited by Prof. Ven. Medagama Nandawansa and Dr. Bhikṣuṇī TN Gioi Huong.
- Buddhism In Sri Lanka During The Period of 19th to 21st Centuries. Buddhist Studies Seminar in Colombo. Edited by Prof. Ven. Medagama Nandawansa and Dr. Bhikṣuṇī TN Gioi Huong.
- Diary: Practicing Vipassana and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Sutta.
- SÁCH SONG NGỮ (VIETNAMESE-ENGLISH)
- Bản Tin Hương Sen: Xuân, Phật Đản, Vu Lan (Hương Sen Newsletter: Spring, Buddha Birthday and Vu Lan, annual/ Mỗi Năm).
- Danh Ngôn Nuôi Dưỡng Nhân Cách - Good Sentences Nurture a Good Manner.
- Văn Hóa Đặc Sắc của Nước Nhật Bản-Exploring the Unique Culture of Japan.
- Sống An Lạc dù Đời không Đẹp như Mơ - Live Peacefully though Life is not Beautiful as a Dream.
- Hãy Nói Lời Yêu Thương-Words of Love and Understanding.
- Văn Hóa Cổ Kim qua Hành Hương Chiêm Bái -The Ancient- Present Culture in Pilgrim.
- Nghệ Thuật Biết Sống - Art of Living.
- Dharamshala - Hành Hương Vùng Đất Thiêng, Ấn Độ, Dharamshala - Pilgrimage to the Sacred Land, India.
- SÁCH CHUYỂN NGỮ
- Xá Lợi Của Đức Phật (Relics of the Buddha), Tham Weng Yew.
- Sen Nở Nơi Chốn Tử Tù (Lotus in Prison), many authors.
- Chùa Việt Nam Hải Ngoại (Overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Temples).
- Việt Nam Danh Lam Cổ Tự (The Famous Ancient Buddhist Temples in Vietnam).
- Hương Sen, Thơ và Nhạc – (Lotus Fragrance, Poem and Music).
- Phật Giáo-Một Bậc Đạo Sư, Nhiều Truyền Thống (Buddhism: One Teacher – Many Traditions),Đức Đạt Lai Lạt Ma 14th & Ni Sư Thubten Chodren.
- Cách Chuẩn Bị Chết và Giúp Người Sắp Chết-Quan Điểm Phật Giáo (Preparing for Death and Helping the Dying – A Buddhist Perspective)
- ALBUMS NHẠC
Từ Thơ Thích Nữ Giới Hương
- Đào Xuân Lộng Ý Kinh (The Buddha’s Teachings Reflected in Cherry Flowers).
- Niềm Tin Tam Bảo (Trust in the Three Gems).
- Trăng Tròn Nghìn Năm Đón Chờ Ai (Who Is the Full Moon Waiting for for Over a Thousand Years?).
- Ánh Trăng Phật Pháp (Moonlight of Dharma-Buddha).
- Bình Minh Tỉnh Thức (Awakened Mind at the Dawn) (Piano Variations for Meditation).
- Tiếng Hát Già Lam (Song from Temple).
- Cảnh Đẹp Chùa Xưa (The Magnificent, Ancient Buddhist Temple).
- Karaoke Hoa Ưu Đàm Đã Nở (An Udumbara Flower Is Blooming).
- Hương Sen Ca (Hương Sen’s Songs)
- Về Chùa Vui Tu (Happily Go to Temple for Spiritual Practices)
- Gọi Nắng Xuân Về (Call the Spring Sunlight).
- Đệ Tử Phật. Thơ: Thích Nữ Giới Hương, Nhạc: Uy Thi Ca & Giác An, volume 4, năm 2023.
Mời xem: http://www.huongsentemple.com/index.php/kinh-sach/tu-sach-bao-anh-lac
[1] Dhammcakkappavattana Sutta, Samyutta Nikàya v. https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Four_Noble_Truths
[2] Ibid.
PLEASE READ THE WHOLE BOOK LIVE PEACEFULLY THOUGH LIFE IS NOT BEAUTIFUL AS A DREAM: 34.Song_An_Lac-Live_Peaceful-TN_Gioi_Huong.pdf
