Nghe An Buddhism - forever shining with the homeland - Part 2
With the spirit of "protecting the nation and bringing peace to the people", Buddhism accompanies the nation, throughout history, Nghe An Buddhism has made many contributions to the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, to the homeland and the country. The tradition of "serving religion, loving the country, devoting oneself to practicing religion" has been and is being united by monks, nuns, and Buddhists with other beliefs and religions, spreading good, humane values, for the peace, happiness of the people and the prosperity of Nghe An homeland...
Lesson 2:
Creating a peaceful environment,
serving sentient beings
Promote the spirit of compassion, the salvation of Buddhism, in recent years, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist SanghaSouthern provinceNghe An and pagodas have mobilized monks, nuns, and Buddhists to actively support and participate in charity activities.modelsSocial security has a great social effect. Thereby, contributing to bringing the image of Nghe An Buddhism to the masses in a friendly and close way.close to profound human values
Spreading moral values to young people
Gam Pagoda is a religious architectural work of the Truc Lam Zen sect located in Ke Gam village (in Xuan Thanh commune) and is part of the spiritual eco-tourism complex of Song Dinh - Ru Gam, one of the religious works with unique artistic value of the ancient cultural beauty of Yen Thanh district.
In Nghe An, only Yen Thanh district has a temple and pagoda located in the same open space. This religious and spiritual facility has been a place for spiritual activities and practice for more than 30,000 Buddhists in the district for many years.
In addition to performing Buddhist work, this place is also a good place for social security work, helping many people overcome difficulties and hardships.
Visiting Gam Pagoda (literally Chi Linh Tu) on a late autumn afternoon, we were attracted by a young boy in gray clothes, with a smart face and three-tufted hair, leisurely reading Buddhist teachings carved on stone slabs in the peaceful grounds of the pagoda.
Talking to Venerable Thich Tue Minh - representative of Gam Pagoda, we learned that the boy with the dharma name Thanh Chau was adopted in the pagoda and has been studying in grade 2 at the primary school in Xuan Thanh commune for the past 2 years.
Thanh Chau had a difficult situation, his mother alone sold fruits in the Vinh stadium area to raise 3 children. Because of the difficult situation, at the age of 7, Thanh Chau had not yet entered first grade. Later, someone who sympathized with his situation instructed Thanh Chau's mother to take him to Gam pagoda to meet Venerable Thich Tue Minh to ask for shelter.
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With compassion, Venerable Thich Tue Minh welcomed the boy into the temple and created conditions for him to go to school. “Your coming to the temple is a predestined relationship. The temple will be responsible for raising you until you are 18 years old. After that, depending on your circumstances, if you wish to follow the path of religious practice, I will guide you in your practice. If you want to go out into society, the temple will create conditions for you to learn a profession to earn a living,” Venerable Thich Tue Minh said.
Also according to the representative of Gam Pagoda's abbot, over the past 10 years, the biggest welfare issue that the pagoda has been concerned about is spreading spiritual and moral values to young people through opening summer retreat classes "Nurturing lotus buds; Nurturing moral seeds; I return to Buddha; Preparing for life", along with martial arts clubs and life skills classes with the participation of thousands of young people aged 6 to 18. Particularly for the summer retreat, each session organizes 3-4 courses, each course attracts 500-560 children to participate in 7 days, with accommodation and activities at the pagoda completely free.
“The retreats all focus on educating and supporting the youth spiritually according to 4 contents (respecting the law, respecting the country, being filial to grandparents and parents; respecting teachers and valuing religion, being kind to everyone around). Depending on each age group, the temple will have different forms and contents, focusing on Buddhist meditation methods, healing from within, helping children reflect on themselves” - Venerable Thich Tue Minh said.
In addition to schools in the province, there are also students from universities in Hanoi participating in experiential activities. Depending on the actual situation, the temple often builds self-mentoring programs for students to exchange thoughts and wishes, and discuss a social issue of interest or hot on social networks.
Through that, conveying messages to help students comprehensively perceive the core values of happiness, love and kindness. As a female student in Hanoi, after participating in the tea meditation night "Looking at life with compassionate eyes" at Gam Pagoda recently expressed "respect and gratitude to the monks for giving me and my friends a meaningful practice course... helping us reset ourselves and find ourselves again".
Along with activities for the youth, Gam Pagoda also implements many other social security programs such as coordinating with the district Fatherland Front to build solidarity houses for the poor, on average 5 houses are built per year, with support from 30-50 million VND/house, or the "Rice Fragrance of Homeland" Club model; the Pot of Loving Porridge program at Yen Thanh District General Hospital; "Fund to Help the Poor" supports Buddhist families with interest-free loans... Thereby, spreading humanistic values, the spirit of compassion, relief from suffering, and disaster relief of Buddhism.
Sacred realm of revolutionary journalist martyrs
Da Pagoda (literally Au Lac) in Hung Loc commune, Vinh city is not only famous for its sacredness with the oral tradition "The Holy Temple, the Buddha of Da Pagoda" but has also become a "red address" for traditional education; because this is the place to worship 512 revolutionary journalist martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the resistance war against France and America, building and defending the Fatherland, and volunteering to perform noble international duties.
Chatting with us over a pot of fragrant lotus tea in a quiet space, Venerable Thich Dong Tue - Abbot of Da Pagoda shared: To collect the list and documents of 512 martyrs of revolutionary journalists, including 8 martyrs from Nghe An, first of all, we must mention the concern and dedication of journalist Tran Van Hien - Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nghe An Newspaper. He had a long journey of more than 15 years going back and forth between the North and South, up the mountains and down the sea to search for and piece together information about martyred journalists who fell on all fronts and battlefields from 1947 to the war to protect the Southwest border and then the North.
By 2019, journalist Tran Van Hien completed the list of martyrs and this list was kept at the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Museum. However, the Nghe An journalist still felt uneasy, because most of the martyr journalists had no relatives and no one to worship them.
“Through conversations and tea drinking, journalist Tran Van Hien expressed his concerns and raised the issue of worshiping journalist martyrs at Da Pagoda. When I heard that, I was very happy and immediately agreed. In 2020, on the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27), the grand ceremony to pray for the souls of revolutionary journalist martyrs from all over the country to the altar to pay tribute and offer eternal incense was solemnly held at this more than 400-year-old pagoda.”
Also according to Venerable Thich Dong Tue: Every year on June 21 and July 27, the pagoda holds a memorial service for martyr journalists. In 2024, the Vietnam Journalists Association coordinated with the pagoda to organize a large-scale memorial service, with the participation of central and local delegates to pay tribute to martyr journalists who devoted their youth to the cause of national liberation and protection of the independence and freedom of the Fatherland.
In the conversation with us, journalist Nguyen Van Hien said that while working at Nghe An Newspaper, he took advantage of his business trips to collect information from colleagues, and at the same time asked the Journalists Associations of provinces and cities to coordinate and provide information about journalists who had sacrificed and their relatives. From there, he gathered hundreds of touching stories and valuable documents about martyr journalists who had fallen on the battlefields.
And his book “Standing under the bombs” was published and also recorded those touching stories. Together with relics such as pens, cameras, notebooks… the book is a valuable source of information for tourists and Buddhists who want to learn about the portraits of revolutionary journalist martyrs when they visit Da Pagoda.
Journalist Tran Van Hien also expressed that he felt relieved when the martyrs of revolutionary journalists were brought back to worship in this sacred land, because "The land of the gods resounded with sacred drums during the Soviet era/ Au Lac Pagoda shines with the Buddha's heart, firmly on the path of cultivation".
Join handsenvironmental protection, climate change response
Located in Minh Thanh hamlet, Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu district, An Thai pagoda has existed for a long time and was renovated on a large scale during the reign of Tran Minh Tong (1324 -1329). According to the theory of yin and yang, the pagoda is located in the middle of the "four sacred animals meeting together", which are Thanh Long, Bach Ho, Chu Tuoc and Huyen Vu. In particular, the pagoda also preserves a sacred ancient well dug in 1024, during the reign of King Ly Thai To, Thien Thanh year.
Through the ups and downs of history, An Thai Pagoda gradually fell into disrepair. In 2010, the People's Committee of Nghe An province decided to restore this pagoda.
From here, Buddhist activities and propagation of the Dharma were diligently built and developed by the abbot, Venerable Thich Minh Hai, monks, nuns and Buddhists. From a temple on a barren hill, now the trees are green, flowers are fragrant all year round, the green - clean - beautiful space makes anyone who enters the temple feel attracted.
Venerable Thich Thanh Minh - on behalf of Abbot Thich Minh Hai said: To have the current campus, the pagoda has received the united efforts of Buddhists and local people. Many Buddhists volunteered to donate working days, greening the landscape, and expanding environmental protection models.
A typical example is Buddhist Pham Thi Mai Khoa, born in 1965, a female poet who used to live and work in Ho Chi Minh City but is a daughter-in-law of Nghe An. Talking to us, the woman with a petite figure and a kind face shared that she was born and raised in Hanoi, then moved to the South, is a retired officer of the Department of Transport, and participates in activities at the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association. Her husband is from Quynh Long commune, Quynh Luu district (Nghe An).
In 2020, following her mother-in-law’s wish to live out her final days in her hometown, poet Mai Khoa and his wife brought her to Quynh Long commune (Quynh Luu) to care for her. Her relationship with An Thai pagoda, where “the sky is clear and the water is clear,” began from there.
Being a person who loves trees and is knowledgeable about trees, when visiting the pagoda, seeing women often collecting trash to burn, poet Mai Khoa discussed with the monks to discuss with Buddhists how to chop trash and compost it to fertilize trees. In addition, she opened her own nursery at home with more than 40 types of ornamental plants and fruit trees, and together with other Buddhists and people, carried soil and planted hundreds of ginseng, mai, and hibiscus trees from her family's nursery to create a green landscape and form vibrant flower paths at An Thai pagoda. She also encouraged Buddhists not to abuse and burn votive offerings to avoid waste and protect the environment.
From active and dedicated Buddhists like Ms. Pham Thi Mai Khoa, the greening movement to beautify indoor and outdoor spaces has spread throughout Quynh Long commune, where An Thai pagoda is located.
In June 2024, An Thai Pagoda was selected by the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province in coordination with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Nghe An province, and the Standing Committee of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee of Nghe An province as a model of "Religion protecting the environment and responding to climate change".
Immediately after the launching ceremony of the pilot model, the Organizing Committee deployed people and Buddhists to clean the environment, collect waste at the beach area, plant 2,700 Do trees and 5 La Han pine trees around the pagoda area, spreading positive messages about environmental protection.
The above are just a few typical examples in many social security models, accompanying the development of the homeland that Buddhist establishments, monks and Buddhists in Nghe An province have implemented. Thereby, educating monks, nuns and Buddhists about the cultural values, ethics and profound humanistic philosophy of Buddhism, gathering people's hearts, strengthening the great solidarity of the whole people.
These activities also show that Buddhism always upholds the spirit of harmony between religion and life. That is also an internal factor for believers to voluntarily initiate meritorious deeds and for each monk or nun to be aware of their responsibilities and duties.“Serving sentient beings is practically making offerings to the Buddhas.", to "give and keep forever"…
