In the encyclical Fides et ratio (Faith and Reason) of Pope John Paul II to the bishops of the Catholic Church on the relationship between faith and reason in 1998, the Pope wrote: "Faith and Reason is the wings that help the human intellect to climb up to contemplate the truth. God has instilled in man's heart the desire to know the truth, and finally to know himself, so that having known and loved him, man may also know the full truth about himself" (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27.8-9; 63.2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 John 3:2). Perhaps this was also the intention of Pope Benedict XVI in his lecture at the University of Regensburg (Germany) on September 12, 2006, titled “Glaube, Vernunft und Universität— Erinnerungen und Reflexionen” (Faith). , reason and university: recollections and reflections). In this presentation, Pope Benedict XVI quoted the 14th-century emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, the last Catholic emperor of the Roman Empire before the fall of Constantinople in 1453, as saying, about Islam (Islam) and this has caused a backlash against this religion in countries. The emperor's comment on Islam, according to the English version of the Vatican, is as follows: "Show me what is new Muhammad has brought and you will find only inhuman things. pious and cruel, as his command was to spread the faith he preached with the sword.” When quoting this comment of the emperor Manuel II, the Pope wanted to make a distinction, on the one hand, the Catholic view (represented by the emperor Manuel II) that: "do not act in accordance with reason. The mind is contrary to the nature of God", with the view of Islam (represented by Theodore Khoury, an Islamic scholar), that Allah (God) is superior to human reason and the will of God. His will cannot be limited by any principle, including reason. In quoting the emperor Manuel II, Pope Benedict XVI wanted to point out a feature that the other emperor opposed in Islam "forced conversion" and argued that this practice contradicts contradicts the teaching in the Quran that "in religion there is no compulsion". Pope Benedict XVI wanted to say that there is a contradiction between the practice and the teachings of Islam. According to the post-Thomas Aquinas scholastic view (accepted by Pope Benedict XVI): God is Logos (Reason incarnate) and man is His creature (Imago Dei) who makes man in action. must be based on principles of Reason and which are not in conflict with Faith. Whereas the Allah of Islam transcends the principles of Reason. That is, Allah has the right to contradict Himself if He wishes. According to Pope Benedict XVI, a true dialogue between religions must be grounded in the broadest principles of Reason. After the backlash, the Holy See issued a statement re-explaining the "true" meaning of the aforementioned speech by Pope Benedict XVI and emphasizing that the pope's intention was to emphasize combating violence. for whatever reason or from any religion (not just Islam). This argument does not appear to be of much value in mitigating the attack on the presentation. As head of the Catholic Church, the Holy Father has always faced two conflicting demands in dialogue with other religions: Defending genuine Catholic faith and identity Criticize wrong practices (e.g. violence) in other religions while respecting them, for example respecting the unique faith and identity of Islam (e.g. a religious The famous Islamic scholar holds that Allah stands above reason and that He can overcome all the laws that He himself has made.

In the Zen tradition, enlightenment is the heart of Buddhism. But Zen is not enlightenment, enlightenment is not Zen. Strictly, enlightenment is the end goal of Zen. To penetrate the ultimate realization, so-called pure academic knowledge needs to be cut from the root to be replaced by a deeper, more intimate insight, rooted in the Buddha-nature itself in truth. Bodhidharma said: "A sentient being who is crazy and doesn't know or understand his own mind is the Buddha." Of all the schools of Buddhism, only Zen Buddhism affirms the close connection between 'enlightenment' and enlightenment. And it was Bodhidharma who first laid the foundation for that connection. If Zen studies are the essence of Buddhism, then Bodhidharma is the essence of Zen Buddhism. The birth and development of this sect cannot be conceived without this half-historical, half-legendary figure.   In Vietnam, perhaps the scholar Truc Thien, who translated the first volume of Meditation Discussion of D.T. Suzuki, who was the first translator of Bodhidharma (Six doors to Thieu That cave, An Tiem, 1971). By 2006, all works attributed to Bodhidharma were fully translated from Chinese by researcher Nguyen Minh Tien (Thieu That Luc Mon, Religion Publishing House, Hanoi, 2006). Recently, Van Lang Culture Joint Stock Company has released a new translation by translator Tien Thanh based on the English version of Red Pine (The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma). The advantage of the Red Pine version is that it comes with the original Chinese text, so translator Tien Thanh, who is knowledgeable in Chinese (he has translated the entire Hoang De Noi Kinh), can refer and translate directly. . But based on the Red Pine version, translator Tien Thanh did not fully translate all six works that are said to be Bodhidharma's. The translation this time only has: The summary of the Mahayana path into the four practices, Bloodline theory, Enlightenment theory, and Breaking general theory. Some researchers (including scholar Nguyen Minh Tien) have a skeptical attitude, saying that Bodhidharma is just a mythical, historical figure, and the works attributed to him. It's actually the work of posterity. In fact, in the current academic situation, it is difficult to make a final judgment on this issue. The earliest written mention of Bodhidharma is the 150-year-old Bodhidharma of Duong Huyen Chi (circa 547) who met a monk at Vinh Ninh temple claiming to be Bodhidharma. . The second work, Tuc Cao Sang, by Dao Tuyen (died about 667), wrote a detailed biography of Bodhidharma (volume 16) and named Hue Kha and Dao Duc as two disciples of Dat Ma. The details of the 150-year-old Dat Ma in this biography are probably borrowed from the old Lam Ky Luoyang. Dao Tuyen could also use information from Dam Lam (525-543), who knew about Dat Ma's thoughts through Hue Kha. Dam Lam is the author of the preface to the lecture on the Law of the Second Enter the Four Actions. Dam Lam probably used very old documents because the same information is also found in the work Tomb of the old monk discovered at Dunhuang (dating between 713 and 716). Yanagida Seizan (Liu Dien Thanh Son), a leading Japanese expert on the history of Zen, highly appreciates the historicity of Dam Lam's preface, although he admits that "there are many confusing things in the biography. of the Dalai Lama" (Chùgoku zenshùshi, p.12). Going into the content of the works that are said to be by Bodhidharma, who is officially recognized as the first ancestor of the Chinese Zen lineage, we feel that regardless of whether the character Bodhidharma is real or not, these works clearly capture the essence of Zen learning from the inside, especially the section Breaking the Generals. It can be affirmed that in this primordial Zen thought, there is no distinction between the Southern and Northern Schools, between meditation and reading and chanting of scriptures, between keeping precepts and realizing enlightenment, as many people later misunderstood. . There are no strange behaviors or language. There is no such thing as psychic powers. In contrast, the philosophy of Zen, or of Buddhism in general, still only boils down to the two words "liberation," freeing sentient beings from attachment to appearances, into the delusions that imprison us deeply. sorrowful life. That spirit of Zen is really a great contribution to human civilization. Bodhidharma was a semi-legendary Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th or 6th century. He is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Buddhism to China, and regarded as its first Chinese patriarch. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the monks of Shaolin Monastery that led to the creation of Shaolin kungfu. He is known as Dámó in China and as Daruma in Japan. His name means "dharma of awakening (bodhi)" in Sanskrit. Works attributed to Bodhidharma The two entrances referred to in the title are the entrance of principle (理入 lǐrù) and the entrance of practice (行入 xíngrù).

It is difficult to answer the question “What is Taoism?” Was it a religious movement that appeared in the Han Dynasty in the second century? What was this movement related to the thoughts of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu? Can Chinese martial arts and qigong practices and Tao Yin be included in Taoism? Or is it a set of secrets to enable initiates to become immortals? All above questions are answered perfectly in the Taoism Secrets series by Mantak Chia and many other American scholars. It is the first time in the history of the Vietnamese publication that readers have witnessed the appearance of such a massive encyclopedia of Taoism. Two authors of Secrets of Taoism series have perfectly combined all three parts: from the traditional theoretical basis of Taoism, the Buddhist meditation method, as well as a solid modern biomedical foundation, the authors offer a complete regimen that guides readers step by step into the secret of Taoism alchemy to prolong life, enjoy a happy life, and become as immortal as the universe itself. To live for good is the ultimate goal of practices of Taoism. It is such an unrealistic dream, but the spectacular advances in biological engineering have revealed extremely new perspectives for humanity. That prospect, if it turns out to be true, is a terrible disaster or an overwhelming happiness for people, it is still an open question for philosophers, moralists, and state agencies. The concept of "immortality" is no longer a silly dream of the Han Taoists. It deserves our serious consideration and evaluation.