Vietnamese Monastery’s Dispute with Thich Nhat Hanh’s Followers Turns Violent

by Danny Fisher

A few weeks back, I posted about the trouble brewing at Vietnam’s Bat Nha Monastery, where several members of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing have been staying. The monastery itself is not affiliated with Nhat Hanh’s movement, but rather the official Buddhist Church of Vietnam. Following Nhat Hanh’s return to his homeland in 2005, the abbot at Bat Nha invited Order of Interbeing members to study and teach at the temple. The Order spent upwards of $1 million on new land and buildings at the monastery so that they might have appropriate space to do their work and not interfere with the other trainings taking place at Bat Nha. Then, following some statements from Nhat Hanh to the press, things became tense. Over at MahaSangha News, the wonderful Molly De Shong points us to an Associated Press story which indicates that things have now turned violent at the temple:

    First, local authorities cut off their power, water and telephones.

    Then, a mob descended on their compound with sledgehammers, smashing windows, damaging buildings and threatening occupants.

    Communist authorities have ordered the 379 Vietnamese monks to leave the monastery in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. They say the standoff stems from disagreements between two Buddhist factions at the monastery.

    But Hanh’s followers believe they are being punished because of Hanh’s praise for the Dalai Lama and his call to broaden religious freedom in Vietnam.

    [...]

    But the harmony began to unravel last year, Hanh’s followers say. Chinese officials were upset about published comments he made in support of the Dalai Lama and pressured Vietnam to bar the Zen master from addressing an international Buddhist gathering in Hanoi, they say.

    In an interview with Italian TV, Hanh had said that Vietnam should allow the Dalai Lama to attend the Hanoi gathering and China should allow the Dalai Lama to return to Tibet to meet with his followers there, just as Hanh was allowed to return to Vietnam.

    “I’m sure he knew that speaking out would bring him problems,” said Sister Dang Nghiem, a close Hanh associate who spent six months at Bat Nha.

    And soon enough, problems began.

You can read the rest of the story here. And be sure to visit the website Help Bat Nha Monastery.