What did Buddha wish for humanity to achieve?

What did Buddha wish for humanity to achieve?

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen!

Since the appearance of mankind on this planet, life has always faced many fears and sufferings such as:

• War, killing each other
• Seeing others rich, being poor makes one feel inferior
• Love each other but cannot be together
• Love someone but they do not love oneself
• Do evil deeds, then fear karma so pray for protection from the gods
• Hunger, robbery
• Sickness and suffering
• Lying in a hospital bed, sitting in a wheelchair, needing care
• Losing memory in old age, needing care from children and grandchildren
• Worrying about old age, having no one to take care of them
• Husband and wife quarreling, having affairs, children disobeying parents
• Being gossiped about by others, pressure, stress
• Wishes that are not fulfilled
• Hate someone
• Cheated, cheated, betrayed
• Losing a loved one
• Fearing oneself when dying, not knowing where to go
• And thousands of other fears and sufferings that cover human life.

All human fears and sufferings are caused by ignorance, so to escape this cycle of karma, one needs WISDOM to remove the chains of ignorance. 

Since ancient times, many masters and monks have tried every way to escape the cycle of birth and death such as: Offering sacrifices, sacrificing animals, practicing asceticism, relying on and praying to gods for protection........... but all still cannot escape the cycle of birth and death.

Because of ignorance, humanity has gone astray on the path to seeking wisdom and liberation, from which forms of worship, spells, superstition, and prayers to the gods have emerged, creating customs and rituals such as killing children for shame or pride, cannibalism, self-inflicted injuries, cutting hair to offer to the gods, going naked to practice asceticism... In addition, religious masters have also introduced class divisions and racial discrimination to easily rule the people, making the people increasingly ignorant.

It was not until Prince Siddhartha Gautama discovered the path to wisdom and the elimination of ignorance that humanity saw the light of enlightenment and liberating wisdom. Buddha pointed out eight right paths to attain commandment - meditation - wisdom to achieve liberating wisdom. Throughout his life of spreading liberating wisdom, Buddha wished humanity to achieve many good things, focusing on liberation from suffering and achieving true happiness. Here are some of his main wishes:

1- WISDOM: The Buddha wished for humanity to have liberating wisdom - This is the heart of Buddhist teachings. The Buddha realized that life is full of physical and mental suffering, from birth, aging, sickness, death to dissatisfaction, separation, hatred. He wished for humanity to find the way to end suffering, to achieve ultimate peace and liberation.

- Only wisdom can help us see suffering, the cause of suffering, how to end suffering, how to gain wisdom. With wisdom, we can escape ignorance, wrong views, superstition, and avoid being taken advantage of by others. With wisdom, we can be freed from suffering (Dukkha), attain enlightenment (Bodhi) - a deep understanding of the nature of reality, of impermanence, non-self, and dependent origination. The Buddha wishes that all beings can attain this wisdom, break ignorance, the source of suffering, and clearly see the path to liberation.

 - Just like people without wisdom are threatened by the masters: if they do not make offerings, sacrifices, they will be punished by the gods, their souls will not be liberated (The Buddha affirmed that only the path of enlightenment and wisdom can liberate suffering, in addition, the forms of rituals and prayers do not lead to the path of liberation at all, The Buddha pointed out that people suffer the consequences according to the severity of the karma they sow, for example, whoever sows good seeds will get good results, if that person gives bad seeds, they will get bad karma, no one can pray to the gods or ask the gods to bless, erase the bad karma they have sown, because the gods cannot erase the results that people have sown). For example, when a stone is thrown into the water, the stone will sink, just like the evil deeds that people have done, it will always sink, it cannot float no matter how many prayers are read. But when we do good deeds, it will be like essential oil floating on the surface of the water, essential oil will never sink to the bottom of the river. Understanding this dharma means we have WISDOM.

- For example, poor people are treated badly due to class division (The Buddha pointed out that all living beings are equal, just like mother earth gives us food, breathes the same air and drinks the same water, no one has the right to trample and humiliate others just because they are poorer than us).

2- Practice on your own, do not pray or rely on gods.

- Only by practicing and experiencing by yourself can you gain wisdom, no one can replace you on the path to attaining wisdom. Just like if you want to be a carpenter, you have to learn carpentry, not praying to the gods to get the knowledge of carpentry. Just like if you study mathematics, you have to learn by yourself to get the knowledge of mathematics, not praying to and relying on the gods to get the knowledge of mathematics. The Buddha emphasizes the ability of the individual, practicing by himself to attain enlightenment wisdom and he simply shows the path to gain wisdom, but he cannot use supernatural powers to give wisdom to people.

3- Master your body

- Mastering the body means: preventing illness, not letting illness cling to the body, when old, not losing memory, not being confused, not sitting in a wheelchair, not lying in a hospital bed, not bothering others to take care of when old or sick. When the body is old and weak, enter nirvana, meditate to enter the first, second, third and fourth dhyanas, practice calming the breath, control, command the body to stop breathing to end life, not bothering anyone, enter the motionless magnetic field, achieve a state of serenity, happiness, peace, and gentle liberation.

4- Developing compassion (Karuna) and love:

- Compassion is the desire for others to be free from suffering, while love is the desire for others to be happy. The Buddha encouraged everyone to develop compassion and boundless love for all living beings, without distinction. This is the foundation of morality and peace in society. The Buddha wants humans to live together in peace, not to wage war, to kill each other, not to kill animals, because they (buffalo, cows, chickens, dogs, cats...) all have red blood, salty tears like us, the only difference is that they have the form of animals. They also love their children like humans, and are also afraid and suffer when someone beats or kills them. So why do humans beat and kill animals? If we love animals, our compassion will grow and our wisdom will develop.

5- Live a moral life (Sila): 

- The Buddha taught about precepts, moral principles that help each person avoid doing evil things that harm themselves and others. He wanted everyone to live honestly and truthfully to build a peaceful and harmonious society. 05 precepts for lay people.

• One: Do not kill
• Two: Do ​​not steal
• Three: Do not commit adultery
• Four: Do not lie
• Five: Do not use intoxicants 

- Live without causing suffering to yourself, others, or all living beings. Live with a mind that is unmoved, calm, peaceful, and carefree.

6 - Practice meditation (Dhyana) và Mindfulness (Sati): 

- Meditation helps the mind to be calm, focused and develop wisdom. Mindfulness is the attention paid to the present moment, helping us to recognize and face suffering consciously. The Buddha wanted everyone to practice meditation and mindfulness to transform their own consciousness, achieve peace and wisdom.

7- Live in harmony and respect each other: 

- The Buddha encouraged harmony, unity and respect among all people. He did not discriminate between class, race or social status. His wish was for a peaceful world where people live in love and help each other. 

In short, the Buddha's highest wish was for humanity to escape the cycle of suffering, attain enlightenment and liberation, and live in love, compassion and wisdom.