Vietnamese girl quits job to go to Nepal to become a nun

Ha Phuong said that after studying, she will return to Vietnam to work as an interpreter related to Buddhism.

Rangjung Yeshe International Buddhist Academy in Nepal.

A different path

In October 2012, Truong Thi Ha Phuong (from Ba Ria - Vung Tau, then 24 years old) traveled to Nepal for the first time. While visiting the monuments in the capital Kathmandu, Phuong suddenly met a Swedish man.

The young man asked, “Do you know where Chokling Rinpoche is?” Phuong shook her head, but suddenly said, “I want to go see him too.” So the two new friends went together to Kanying Shedrub Ling monastery, where the Rinpoche (considered to be the reincarnated master) was located.

“Everyone said he was always inside the monastery. But for some reason this time he came out of the door as if waiting for us. After talking, he asked me if I wanted to stay and study, and I nodded: I want to!” – Ha Phuong confided.

After that fateful trip, Ha Phuong returned to Vietnam to prepare for her new journey in life. Her decision to quit her job surprised many people. At that time, Phuong was working as a marketing manager in a trade and service company in Ho Chi Minh City, with a high income and opportunities for advancement. Her relatives and family tried to stop her.

But despite all the gossip, Ha Phuong still decided to enroll at Rangjung Yeshe International Buddhist Academy (Kathmandu, Nepal) on August 27, 2013. From the beginning, Phuong set a goal to pursue a 9-year doctoral program in Vajrayana Buddhism (Esoteric Buddhism). In which, she will go through the following stages: bachelor of Buddhism (4 years), master (3 years) and doctorate (2 years). It is known that Ha Phuong is the first and youngest Vietnamese person to study here.

To access the history of Buddhism and then specialize in Vajrayana, Phuong had to learn many languages ​​at the same time: Tibetan, Nepali and ancient Sanskrit. Besides, English was the intermediary language between teachers and students like Ha Phuong.

Ha Phuong admits that when she first arrived in Nepal, she was almost a blank sheet of paper. Her English was not yet fluent. In particular, Phuong was only used to talking about marketing, business and trade, while specialized Buddhist terminology was very unfamiliar to her.

The attraction of mysterious places

Having lived in Nepal for the past three years, Ha Phuong has never ceased to be amazed: “This country has many mysteries, perhaps because it is located in the Himalayas. On the high mountains, there are ethnic groups with ancient and mysterious cultures. They still live through very harsh winters, with temperatures sometimes reaching minus 22 - 23 degrees Celsius.”

Hà Phương said she had explored to the base camp of the “roof of the world” Everest (Everest Base Camp). In particular, she participated in pilgrimages to the high mountains of the Himalayas, visiting deep caves where monks had long retreated (recluse). Hà Phương said that every year, she went to Lapchi mountain because on it, a Vajrayana master Milarepa attained enlightenment and left footprints in the deep mountains and valleys. She also visited Mustang village, where there are tribes that always maintain ancient cultural features...

“We did it all on foot. Those were very wild areas, few people explored. Because they didn’t want many visitors to come and look at their tribe, the people there didn’t build roads. Through the trips, I was able to broaden my knowledge, understand more about the culture, religion and people of Nepal,” Ha Phuong said.

Work as a tour guide to earn money to pay for tuition

On her days off, Ha Phuong works as a tour guide for Vietnamese and some foreign tourists to earn money to pay for tuition (5,000 USD/year) and other living expenses. “I am still a lay practitioner, I still have needs so I must always strive to overcome greed, anger and ignorance. Don’t think everything is impermanent and then give up, but think about impermanence to make more efforts and strive more in my practice, that is the Buddha’s teachings,” Ha Phuong confided.

Referring to her dream, Ha Phuong expressed: “When coming to Vietnam to preach, most of the monks' language is often converted from English to Vietnamese, so many times it no longer retains the original meaning. Therefore, I want to systematically and completely research Vajrayana, to understand this sect correctly and at the same time participate in translating directly from Tibetan to Vietnamese.”

According to TNO