PHẬT GIÁO HÒA HẢO
HARMONY BUDDHISM
THIÊN LY CA
HEAVENLY REASON
Verses 001 - 100
THIÊN LÝ CA
(Mấy bài dưới đây do ông Cả Châu ở Tân-Long
(Châu-đốc)
PHAN lòng chữ dạ chớ hoài lo,
NGỌC ẩn non Côn tợ lửa lò.
CHÂU lạc đường dê nương bước ngựa,
Núi truông qua đặng rán lần dò.
Vườn hoa ngó khỉ giọng chiu-chít,
Cảnh nguyệt coi gà tiếng ó-o.
Tường-tận đa nghe xê cống liếu,
Hương thôn bỏ xế xự xang hò.
(Đọc ngược lại bốn câu chót - tứ nguyệt nghịch độc)
Hò xang xự xế bỏ thôn hương,
(10) Liếu cống xê nghe đa tận tường.
O-ó tiếng gà coi nguyệt cảnh,
Chít-chiu giọng khỉ ngó hoa vườn.
Quỉ ma hay phá rối người tu,
Đạo-đức chư nhu rán chí hành.
Chớ bỏ lời thề nơi Phật cảnh,
Chớ quên tiếng nguyện chốn non xanh.
Đêm thanh vắng tiếng đờn khoan-nhặt,
Nghe cho tường giọng bắc hòa nam.
Thích-Ca còn phế tước-hàm,
(20) Đài cao cửa rộng mà ham tu hành.
Hiền đệ Châu muốn nghe lời ngọc,
Lão tỏ bày hình vóc nhiệm-sâu.
(Câu nầy của Đức Thầy thêm. Đoạn sau đây có khúc của ông đo, có khúc của Đức Thầy viết xen kẽ).
Thiên ý không riêng mối đạo mầu,
Rằng truyền yếu-lý nhiệm cao sâu.
Chuyển miền Nam-Địa càng thâm-diệu,
Lọc lẽ tà tâm sự đứng đầu.
Nguồn bạch thủy trong veo thấy dạng,
Lẽ nhiệm mầu chưa hản trò ôi! ,
Đêm ngày buồn-bã vô hồi,
(30) Kìa trên Tiên-cảnh vị-ngôi sẵn dành.
Đạo rải khắp năm canh tỏa bút,
Dạy tận-tường chẳng chút nào sai.
Cổ nhơn tích để phân bày,
Đường chơn nẻo chánh âu ai rán tầm.
Thuyền bát-nhã chí tâm trực thẳng,
Thả ra khơi cứu dẫn khách trần.
Phù-sanh lắm cuộc lao thân,
Ngày đêm ta-thán muôn phần đớn-đau.
Trông đợi người tài cao đức trọng,
(40) Hầu rõ thông thiên-võng lẽ nao.
Chí tâm tường lãm thấp cao,
Dạy cho rõ biết Thiên-Tào nơi đâu
. Ngồi nghĩ cạn thêm sầu cho thế,
Bởi ít ai cải chế đường tà.
Sợ e nhiễm trược đọa sa,
Sợ cho lắm kẻ chan hòa lụy tuôn.
Sợ nhiều kẻ dạ buồn đổi chí,
Quên những câu chánh kỷ hóa nhơn.
(50) Mảng lo tìm kiếm tước quờn,
Thất kỳ vọng tưởng lánh chơn đường lành.
Trong buổi khổ mau mau tránh khổ,
Rán tầm vào đến chỗ an cư.
Học câu hỉ-xả đại từ,
Nêu gương nghĩa sĩ dạ tư chớ gần.
Câu bát-chánh rán mài chạm dạ,
Tứ mục-điều người khá hành y.
Muôn thu thiên định nhứt kỳ,
Hạ-nguơn sắc-lịnh khai kỳ Long-hoa.
(60) Rán vẹt phá sương mù trước mắt,
Chớ để cho quỉ dắt linh hồn.
Lão đây vưng lịnh Phật-tôn,
Lãnh cân thưởng phạt chư môn dữ lành.
Khá chí tâm học hành kinh sám,
Thoát nơi miền hắc-ám phong-ba.
Trở chơn cho kịp Long-Hoa,
Long-Hoa có mặt ấy là hiền nhơn.
Đền nợ thế nghĩa-ơn trọn vẹn,
Lấy tinh-thần hiệp vén ngút-mây.
(70) Chớ nên bắt-bẻ Phật-Thầy,
Ngày sau phải chịu đọa đày chớ than.
Cuối năm Thìn sẽ lo vận chuyển,
Xứ "Hà tiên" linh hiển cơ-quan.
Nhơn sanh sẽ hiệp một đàng.
Hết Thìn rồi lập Nhơn-Hoàng hội ra.
Khuyên sanh-chúng gần xa phân cạn,
Dựng Nhơn-Hoàng cho rạng Á-Đông.
Chúng-sanh phải tưởng giống-dòng,
Hiệp tâm hiệp trí cột đồng nhà Nam.
(80) Phật chỉ dạy qui tam lập hội,
Dựng cho rồi một cội thành ba.
Chớ mong yến thử ẩm hà,
Mười ngàn năm lẻ cửa nhà đâu con.
Ta nhắc lại héo von cho trẻ,
Cứ đâu lưng đừng rẽ đừng chia.
Cả kêu lớn nhỏ quày vìa,
Trên hòa dưới thuận chớ lìa chớ phân.
Long-Hoa hội ân-cần lo lập,
Lập cho rồi tam-thập-lục nhơn.
(90) Lôi-Âm giục khởi tiếng đờn,
Thất-Sơn dấy loạn là cơn hiểm-nghèo.
Nơi phía trước cheo leo tiếng khóc,
Đứng sau lưng hình-vóc dảy chưn.
Nước kia lửa nọ tưng bừng,
Thảm cho thế sự lẫy-lừng nạn tai.
Thời cũng tại không ai tu niệm,
Cứ lẳng-lơ ngạo biếm khoe-khoang.
Đến nay là buổi tai nàn,
Tam thiên lục bá khắp tràng hại dân.
(100) Đến Thân-Dậu Thánh-Thần náo động,
HEAVENLY REASON
(The following were presented to Lord Master by the village head of Tan Long, Chau Doc, saying that they were given him by “Ông Đò”(Ferryman)
PHAN’s guts, worded ‘night’, don’t be so anxious,
NGOC hides in Con mountains[1] like stove glitters.
CHAU who lost the goat path can lean on horse steps,
To cross ridge passes, your fumbling will help.
Flower gardens watch monkeys whooping,
The moon looks down at the rooster crowing.
Xe Cong Liu play, listen to,
The village plays xe xu Xang ho.
(Back read the last four sentences)
Ho Xang xu xe plays the village,
(10) Listen to Liu Cong xe play.[2]
The crowing rooster watches the moon,
Whooping monkeys regard garden flowers.
Devils often disturb the practicers,
Gentlemen, keep practising harder.
Don’t drop your oath at the Buddha land,
Don’t forget your vow over the mountain.
From a quiet night rise loose and tight rhythms,
Listen to the vocal harmony of Bac and Nam[3] .
Even Sakyamuni abandoned His entitlement,
(20) And his palaces in pursuit of enlightenment.
My brother Chau wants to listen to Jade ’s words,[4]
I will expound the mystical figures.
(This sentence was added by Lord Master. The following consist of inserts by ong do and Lord Master)
Providence is not only about morality,
But also about mystical rationality.
Which creates a greater miracle in the South,
Where cleansing evilness first stands out.
The source of white water is pristine like a mirror,
Mystique has not yet been grasped, my junior.
Day and night I am too depressed!
(30) Voilà, my position on Paradise has been set.
The Tao has all day been propagated with my brush,
My thorough teaching presents no error or such.
Ancients’ rich experience is already passed down,
Their right paths should be sought out.
The Insight Boat kindly goes straight ahead,
For high seas to salvage worldly guests.
Their ephemeral lives are grueling,
Day and night complaints are excruciating.
The highly talented and virtuous are awaited,
(40) To grasp how Heavenly Justice is operated.
I resolve to grasp how its celestial net is cast,
Learn to know where the Heavenly Reporter is.
The more I contemplate, the sadder I will be,
As very few renounce their evil ways,
I’m afraid that they should be depraved.
That many should shed lots of tears,
That many sadly would give up their swear,
But ‘Change oneself before changing others’.
(50) They are too busy seeking positions of power,
Failing, they abandon their moral endeavour.
In predicament, be quick to avoid predicament,
Try to seek and settle in a safe haven.
Learn great tolerance and loving compassion,
Roleplay as the champion of the common good.
Engrave The Eightfold Noble Path as you should,
Set The Four Noble Truths for correct practice.
Once every thousand years, it is predestinated,
To open the Long Hoa [5]after the Lower Age.[6]
(60) Split the smog ahead of your face,
Don’t let the devil take away your soul.
I myself receive the Buddha’s decretal,
To hold the balance of justice to run trials.
Conscientiously study Oracles and Sutras,
Escape from the grisly, stormy areas.
Return to attend the Long Hoa Assembly,
If you can attend, it means you belong to nobility.
Pay off your temporal debts of gratitude,
Roll up the clouds with mental fortitude.
(70) Never pick holes against the Master Buddha,
Lest you should later groan about your trauma.
A change will happen in the late Dragon Year,
A spirited move in the “Ha Tien” area.[7]
The living will gather together,
The Dragon ending, the Human King will be chosen.
I urge the masses near and far to awaken.
The Human King is set up to glorify the Orient,
Sentient beings must think about their descent.
Be united to erect the South State’s copper pillars.[8]
Buddha taught that Three [9]would come together,
To finish off building a root of those Three.(81)
A rhinoceros can drink off Ha river [10]’s water,
Ten thousand odd years ago, where was your home?
What a misery for youth! take my reminder,
Stand shoulder by shoulder and do not sever.
I call on the old and young people to return,
To close all your ranks and never slacken.
I carefully have the Long Hoa assembled,
Then I will have established Thirty-Six People.[11]
(90) When Buddha Land plays that piece of music,
As Seven Mountains are agitated, so come high risks.
Ahead, the cries are suspenseful,
Behind, standing are leg-convulsing figures.
All over are raging flames and deluges,
The poor world is filled with back to back tragedies.
This is ‘cause no one has been practising,
But ‘cause they are frivolous, mocking and boasting.
An apocalypse has now come of age,
Three thousand six hundred are on the rampage.
(100) On Monkey and Rooster, Saints are agitated,
Notes on the Title "Heavenly Ruling" 天理
Từ điển Nguyễn Quốc Hùng: Lẽ trời mà con người phải tuân theo.
According to Nguyen Quoc Hung's dictionary, this is the "Heavenly Ruling which everyone must obey"
Thiên lý refers to several meanings. According to Confucianism, it means natural law, universal justice, method of moral standards, etc. In general, it also means Heavenly Tao, which pervades all human and physical activities. Knowing how to observe Heavenly Tao is central to viability.
1.-This line originates from the Chinese literature: “The jade hides in the Con (Kun), gold falls in the Le river.” That means, if one wants to find jade, they must climb the Kun Lun mountains and break this mass of rock, and it will take days or years to fetch it. By the same token, if one wants to prospect for gold, they must mine the Le river.” Kun Lun and Li Jiang are well known for their grandeur as tourist sites. In a figurative sense, only if one must work so hard, can they achieve their goal. In Vietnam, also at Thi Nai village, Chi Linh township, Hai Duong, there is “Con Son” mountain, where two famous mandarins, Nguyen Trai and Tran Nguyen Dan lived. Especially on its peak, there is the pagoda of the most venerable Monk Master Huyen Quang (the third patriarch of Truc Lam school, a zen one originating from the Vietnamese. In a figurative sense, the place is only for the Saints to reside. In theory, the sentence emphasizes the Buddhahood already existing in each individual like a precious stone.
2.-Line 8: These are the music notes of the Vietnamese classics corresponding to the Western notes, Do, Re, Fa, Sol and La.
3.-Line 18: Giọng Bắc Hòa Nam: This is a poem which by its rule, is made up of a pair of seven syllables for each of the first two rows, and of a pair of one six syllable line and the other eight syllable one for the last two rows, no matter how long it is. The first two lines are read fast and tight (high-pitched), and the third and fourth lines are read loose and low-pitched. When Lord Master was at the Heritage Temple (Hoa Hao), He often said every evening: “Let me chant Tien for you to hear!”. Then He immediately read the oracles according to “Giong Bac Hoa Nam”, a blend of Northern and Southern voices, as described above.
4.-Line 21: It refers to Lord Master Himself. In the Oracle Volume I, He mentioned his name as “Blue Jade”.
5.-Line 58 - Long Hoa: According to Buddhism, Lord Sakyamuni Buddha predicted: At the end of the Lower Age, there will be Maitreya Buddha to descend, the fifth of the Five Buddhas, a Bodhisattva who will succeed Sakyamuni Buddha to become the world teacher for the living. The succession also marks the end of the Lower Age with the Nirvana entering of Sakyamuni Buddha, and the birth of Lord Maitreya Buddha, but eventually, the dharma remains unchanged with the Upper Age burgeoning with a new generation of its citizens who have fully observed the dharma and accumulated good deeds. Those who have distinguished merits in the previous lives shall be appointed to positions of high responsibility so that they can contribute to the rule of the new realm. This Gathering to prepare for this new era is called the Assembly of Long Hoa, that means ‘dragon flowers’ which bloom from a tree under which Maitreya Buddha used to meditate and became fully enlightened.
6.-Line 58: The Lower Age is the last of the Three Ages, the Upper Age and the Middle Age. The Three Ages belong to the same cycle in which they follow each other, and each Age may last many millennia, according to the Heavenly Machine, which predestinates what will happen. This conception of the universe is one of the fundamentals in Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. However, despite the powerful circulation of the universe, men can change their fates if they know how to live according to its laws, for example, by renouncing their evildoing, cumulating good deeds, improving their character and mind, consistently and faithfully thinking of the Supreme Being. In this way, the practicer can survive the doomsday and live on to the Upper Age which is dubbed “Golden Age” for the impeccability of its land and people.
7.-Line 72: Ha Tien here is not about the Province of Ha Tien, Southwestern Vietnam, but Tien Giang, the Northern tributary of the MeKong River. Ha or Giang, in Han Nom, means river, Tien the first. It is the first river, that is, Tien Giang. In a Han Viet phrase, the adjective normally stands before the noun. In Quoc Ngu scripts, the order is reversed. However, most of the Vietnamese national names follow the former order for its official titles as the Vietnamese Imperial Court normally used the Han-Viet scripts write their official documents.
8.-Line 59: The Lower Age is the last of the Three Ages, the Upper Age andthe Middle Age. The Three Ages belong to the same cycle in which they follow each other, and each Age may last many millennia, according to the Heavenly Machine, which predestinates what will happen. This conception of the universe is one of the fundamentals in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. However, despite the powerful circulation of the universe, men can change their fates if they know how to live according to its laws, for example, by renouncing their evildoing, cumulating good deeds, improving their character and mind, consistently and faithfully thinking of the Supreme Being. In this way, the practicer can survive the doomsday and live on to the Upper Age which is dubbed “Golden Age” for the impeccability of its land and people.
9.-Line 78: Copper columns of Ma Yuan (Vietnamese: Cột đồng Mã Viện) were a pair of copper columns erected by General Ma Yuan of Han China after his suppression of the Trung sisters' rebellion in 43 AD. The columns stood at the southern frontier of Sianglin (in Indochina, near Cape Varella) to mark the boundary of Chinese territory against the barbarians.[1]Ma prayed to heaven: "if the columns break, Jiaozhi will be destroyed." (銅柱折交趾滅) Vietnamese collected many big rocks and put beside them in order to prevent them from bebroken, later, they became two hills and disappeared from historical records. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper_columns_of_Ma_Yuan.
9.-Line 79: The three referred hereto means three religions, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, but Buddhism finally serves as a mainstay for the three.
10.-Line 81: The name of a River in China called Ha (He in Pinyin).
11.-Line 89: Thiry Six Buddhas and Saints who will have descended to salvage the sentient beings from the ravages by three thousand six hundred heretic cults which will appear by all means of magic or evil methods. The Long Hoa Assembly will be established after that to return harmony and peace to the world and start anew the Upper Age when people will enjoy longevity and lasting happiness (see The Note “Tam Thập Lục Nhơn” on the Collection of Poems: Vietnamese version)
