Trouble at Bat Nha Monastery
Members of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing have started a new blog called Help Bat Nha Monastery to raise awareness about a worsening situation taking place at a monastery in Vietnam. Monastics from Plum Village currently staying at the monastery write the following appeal:
- Dear Brothers and Sisters and Friends of Plum Village from around the world,
We are writing this letter to inform you of the urgent situation in Prajna Monastery, one of the practice centers in the Plum Village tradition in Vietnam, and ask that you help save this monastery so that the four hundred young monks and nuns there may have a safe place to practice.
As many of you were aware of, Thay (Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh) was allowed to go back to Vietnam for the first time in 2005, after having been in exile for 39 years. Although Thay could only give Dharma talks in temples and not in public places, tens of thousands of people came to listen to Thay. Most notably were the benefits and transformations that took place amongst the Vietnamese young people. Consequently, many youth expressed their deep inspiration to continue the practice in their daily lives, and they feared that they would be at a loss after Thay and the delegation left Vietnam. At that time, the Venerable Abbot of Prajna Temple also requested that Thay accept his temple and turn it into a monastery that trains monastic and lay friends solely in the Plum Village tradition. Having considered the young people’s real needs for a spiritual practice, Thay accepted the Venerable Abbot of Prajna’s requests, with one condition that he would continue to be the Abbot there. Thay ordained over twenty young people during his first return to Vietnam, and these young monks and nuns subsequently moved to Prajna Temple to receive further training. Since then, over three hundred young people have been ordained in the Plum Village tradition in Vietnam. Elder monastic brothers and sisters from Plum Village have been sent back to Vietnam to train these young practitioners. Over a period of three years, from mid of 2005 to 2008, with the loving supports and generous donations from members of the International Sanghas of Plum Village in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, meditation halls, living quarters, dining halls and kitchens were built and plots of land in the surrounding area were purchased, in order to accommodate this rapidly growing population of monastic and lay practitioners.
When Thay returned to Vietnam in 2007, our young Vietnamese monastic brothers and sisters already proved to be so grown spiritually. Their tireless service, joy and freshness helped the three Grand Requiem Ceremonies throughout the country to be a deeply moving and healing experience for the Vietnamese people as well as to all of us who were able to accompany Thay to Vietnam (these ceremonies prayed equally for all people who died in the Vietnam War). During this trip, we also heard talks about the change of heart in the Venerable Abbot of Prajna; he became increasingly discontent because the monastics focused too much on the practice and on Mindfulness retreats and too little in charity works and in the expansion of Prajna Monastery as well as in other places. Thay’s approach was clear: “We want to help build human beings, not establishments.” In 2008, Thay and the Plum Village delegation returned to Vietnam to help with the International Vesak Celebration in Hanoi. We also had several retreats before this grand event. Again, it was the Vietnamese monastic practitioners who were the main organizers in this occasion. After the Vesak Celebration, Thay went to Prajna Monastery to be with the young monastic brothers and sisters. Thay offered them deep teachings every day during those three weeks. The Venerable Abbot was absent most of the time that Thay was there. Once in a Question and Answer session, a young nun asked the Venerable Abbot directly, “Respected Teacher, we heard about talks that you would ‘take back Prajna’ and ‘kick’ all of us out. Is that true? Please tell us. We are very afraid….” The Abbot replied that “as long as you practice sincerely, no one is going to kick you out.”
Unfortunately, since October 2008, many acts of hostility and violence have taken place. Groups of men were ordered to throw the belongings of the young monks out in the hallway. Gates to the monastery have been locked so that lay friends could not enter for the Day of Mindfulness. Chanting from the Pure Land tradition was played on the speakers throughout the day, even while the young monastics practice sitting meditation. Police have come to search and interrogate monks and nuns at any hour of the day and night. Some monks and nuns have been chased with life-threatening objects. Electricity, water and phone lines have been turned off and food deliveries have been prevented…. The message is clear: the Venerable Abbot no longer wants to sponsor the young monks and nuns in the Plum Village tradition at Prajna. They are to go home or to go to other temples. However, the more severe implication is that: this is a joined effort of certain political and religious leaders to ban the mindfulness practice of the Plum Village tradition in Vietnam. Despite the angry threats and severe violations of human rights and religious freedom, almost 400 young monks and nuns continue to stay steadfast at Prajna; only about 10 have left the monastery during these past turbulent two years, while young people continue to come ask for ordination. If you have ever come to practice with us, you would understand that we only practice non-violence and compassion; when the tension is unbearable, our young brothers and sisters practice Noble Silence and fasting.
The Venerable Abbot has long left Prajna to stay in a discreet place, but his elder monastic disciples remained in Prajna to help conduct these incidents. We are aware that the Venerable Abbot is also only a victim. We do not doubt that in the beginning, he had a sincere aspiration to provide a practice center for the young people in Vietnam. As the Venerable Abbot had shared publicly many times, Thay’s pioneering vision about engaged Buddhism and his social work during the Vietnam War inspired the Abbot since he was a novice and helped him to persist on his monastic path even during the most trial times. However, during the thirty nine years of practice in the West, Thay’s understanding of Buddhism and his approach to service have deepened and changed drastically. This divergence in ideal and focus caused the Venerable Abbot tension and reaction. As Prajna Monastery became more developed and well respected, the seeds of ambition and envy stirred further discontentment in him… However, the Abbot alone would not have been able to design and sustain all of these ongoing hateful and destructive acts. With certainty, Prajna Monastery would not have been able to manifest and function these past four years if it were not for the deep appreciation and silent support from certain important political and religious leaders in Vietnam. At the same times, there have also been those leaders who are strongly against Thay. Every time Thay was in Vietnam, he addressed honestly the real problems that the country was facing. He met directly with the former Prime Minister and the current President of Vietnam and offered concrete proposals to the government, to the Communist Party, and to the National Buddhist Church of Vietnam, etc. Thay even advised that Vietnam should deepen her relationship with other countries and to lessen her dependency on China… Some argue that Thay could have remained silent about those issues, and perhaps Prajna Monastery would have been left in peace. Thay had the power, the position and the courage to speak up and to be listened to. If Thay did not, who could and who would? It is not just about Prajna. It is the deepening of our practice as a spiritual tradition and the strengthening of our sovereignty in the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood that we should all together work towards.
The mindfulness practice in the Plum Village tradition has proven to be applicable and effective to all people of our time. Since Prajna Monastery came to existence, thousands of young and educated Vietnamese people have come to take refuge in it. Even Sangha members from Hong Kong and Australia make yearly trips to Prajna to practice. Prajna is symbolic of our aspiration and our hope for a better future of Vietnam. Let us help each other let go of personal interests, misunderstandings and resentments. Let us help ensure the human rights and the religious freedom for all people, in particular for these young monks and nuns at Prajna Monastery. If you are in the position to help, please do so. If you can contact friends, religious and political figures who can help, please ask them to help us. The collective awareness and our international voice can help protect the monastic lives of these young men and women and ensure a safe place for them to practice together. Our practice is to “go as a river.” Drops of water would evaporate mid-way, but a river can arrive at the ocean. We want to be able to live and practice together as a spiritual family. We want to offer a place of refuge for everyone who is in search for peace. At this moment, we cannot just find another place to relocate, since there are almost 400 monks and nuns all together. Moreover, it is not likely that the monks and nuns would be left in peace to practice, even if we were to relocate. Thus, we entrust our protection in our spiritual ancestors and in you.
To you our humble request,
Monastic Brothers and Sisters of Prajna Monastery
The postal address of Bat Nha Monastery:
Thôn 13 Xa Dam Bri, Bao Loc district, Lam Dong Province (half way Saigon-Dalat)
Contact persons:
Dharma Teacher Brother Phap Hoi or Phap Tu email phap tu [sinh...@gmail.com]
Telephone: 011 (84) 633911724)
or Sister Than Nghiem: (063- 3763 944)
In the case you cannot reach them because the electricity has been cut and their cell phone has run out of battery, please call our contact person in Ho Chi Minh City: Xuan 08 3978 78 22 or Nghiem 0907373504 (please note they only speak Vietnamese). If you are currently in Vietnam, they will be glad to escort you Bat Nha Monastery by car.
For more–including petitions–visit http://helpbatnha.org.
