East Sea Waves at Bai Dinh Pagoda

Unexpectedly, the East Sea waves also reached Bai Dinh Pagoda - where the United Nations Vesak Festival is taking place. Come here and realize how Buddhism and monks have entered the world in the face of hot stories of the country and humanity....

Pray for peace

A young monk knelt down and bowed before the towering Buddha statue in Bai Dinh Pagoda. I heard the monk praying and was startled when his prayer included the words “East Sea” and “peace”. The space of the pagoda was cool, the wind outside was gentle, but sweat dripped down and soaked the back of the brown robe of this monk whose dharma name is Thich Tri Minh.

Message of peace at the 2014 Vesak festival (photo 1), Chinese ship rammed straight into Vietnamese ship (photo 2), at the foot of the Hoang Sa Heroic Soldiers Monument in Ly Son, fishermen protested (photo 3), Despite China's reckless actions, fishermen in the Central region still bravely go to sea. Photo: Minh Duc and a group of reporters.

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After stopping his bowing and praying, monk Thich Tri Minh shared with me: “I came from the South to attend the Vesak Festival and felt very happy, but then I followed the news that China had brought an oil rig into Vietnam’s waters, and people all over the country were indignant. I bowed my head before the Buddha and prayed for peace.”

“Monk, if we just pray, can we prevent war?” The young monk smiled: “Do you know why people put a lotus leaf in a full water bucket to prevent the water from spilling out? Prayer is like that lotus leaf, it makes people know their limits and prevents their desires from “spilling” out. If in this world, everyone turned to Buddha and prayed every day, there would be no bloody conflicts.”

Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh - from Quang Ninh - was chatting with two Indian monks. I heard them discussing the greedy ambitions that were threatening world peace. Walking in the temple yard, the three monks' story dragged on and on, forgetting that the sky had begun to drizzle. The situation in the East Sea was stormy, Ukraine was on the brink of war, Thailand was about to have a big protest, the ferry accident in South Korea, MH370 was missing... how many worldly affairs seemed to concern the monks?

Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh did not directly mention the issue of China sending an oil rig to violate Vietnam's sovereignty over its sea and islands, but his warm and leisurely voice contained determination: "Buddhism never advocates war, but the Buddha advises people to protect their home. The country is our home. But not everyone in humanity understands this, they want to snatch other people's land and sea. We must first treat them with compassion and patience. But the Buddha's compassion and patience are not pessimistic and resigned, but are based on virtue and wisdom."

“Venerable sir, if China continues to encroach and refuses to withdraw the drilling rig from our continental shelf, what should we do?”

The monk looked into the distance, as if a monk was not concerned with such specific worldly questions. He slowly said:

“Pray for peace with all your heart. Amitabha Buddha.”

Monk Thich Minh Sang from the Central region was sitting pensively looking at Bai Dinh pagoda, frowning slightly and saying:

“Life is so complicated now, the world has many changes and instabilities, how can living beings enjoy peace, without war or conflict? If everyone follows the Buddha's teachings, the world will certainly be peaceful.

The Buddha taught: If there is a war, the Buddha will use compassion to resolve it. Compassion can overcome violence. If you use violence to deal with violence, violence will pile up. In my opinion, at this time we should not raise the issue of violence when dealing with the situation in the East Sea. We must use diplomatic measures and dialogue, and have the United Nations and international friends by our side, because we have justice.

In recent days, Venerable Thich Chieu Tue - Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha - has been continuously updating information on the Internet about the situation in the East Sea, not missing any developments. The Venerable confided: "Although I am a monk, a monk is first and foremost a son of Vietnam, and must love and protect his country. In recent days, I have been upset by China's arrogant actions."

A monk must be upset that the issue has clearly gone beyond normal limits. Venerable Thich Chieu Tue said that many monks attending the Vesak Festival also paid attention to the situation in the East Sea. Although the Vesak agenda did not mention this story, on the sidelines of the festival, information about the Chinese oil rig illegally placed, violating Vietnam's sovereignty over the sea and islands, was talked about a lot.

According to Venerable Thich Chieu Tue, some monks also want to discuss this issue with Chinese monks attending Vesak. “In the spirit of the Great Festival, monks and nuns also want to find a way to gain international support and arouse patriotism among the people. We need to persevere in the path of peaceful dialogue. But if they encroach, we must protect the sea and sky of the Fatherland. In the past, when Uncle Ho called for national resistance, monks took off their cassocks and put on military uniforms. Now, no patriotic monk stands outside the fate of his nation.”

When Buddhism enters the world

Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu - Chairman of the International Organizing Committee of the 2014 UN Day of Vesak said: “I would like to quote the words from Walt Disney's classic work: “It is a world of laughter, a world of tears. It is a world of hope, a world of fear. There are many things we need to share. That this is a time for us to be aware of this. This is just a small world”. We have come together with the best minds and voices of Buddhism in the world to inspire us to engage in the world, to serve humanity and society”.

Volunteers at the Grand Ceremony

The engagement in the world that Venerable Thich Thanh Nhieu mentioned becomes even more relevant when the theme of this year's Vesak is "Buddhism's contribution to the realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals". Those goals are so close to the lives of sentient beings such as world peace, poverty reduction, and environmental protection that engaged monks and nuns join hands to shoulder.

In front of the temple yard, Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh continued the story of Buddhism entering the world: "When material society develops, material desires increase, we must build a foundation of morality. Buddhism always aims for a balance between material and spiritual, always wants to build a complete and comprehensive morality."

For Venerable Thich Chieu Tue, that spirit of engagement has been demonstrated through concrete actions. Hundreds of billions of dong have been raised by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha to help the poor, the lonely, and the homeless. Not only helping with food and clothing, but also helping studious young people by giving scholarships and building schools...

The compassionate clasped hands of peace lovers

The power of Buddhism to engage the world is so great that the United Nations Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, sent a message to Vesak - Bai Dinh. He wrote: “The Buddha’s message of peace, compassion and love for all living beings resonates strongly. This message calls us to open our hearts and arms to our fellow human beings, especially those in need.

At a time of rising tensions in many parts of Asia and elsewhere, these timeless teachings can help guide governments and the international community. These noble teachings can inspire our efforts to address the larger challenges facing our world – from conflict and inequality to climate change. In each of these areas, we must rise above narrow self-interest, to think and act as members of an international community.”

A day of vegetarian food and smiles...free

On Vesak Day, Buddhists from all over the world came here in large numbers without any chaos. This was the first time I had seen such an orderly crowd. There was no jostling, no haggling, no loud voices. Free vegetarian food, free water, and free smiles. The smiles of volunteers clasping their hands in front of their chests.

It seems that on the great Buddhist festival day, the jostling worldly beings stopped at the temple gate, even a street photographer who used to rip off tourists smiled and helped take free photos for monks and Buddhists. In the late afternoon, hungry and tired, being given a free bag of vegetarian food and drinks, accompanied by a bright smile, suddenly felt a sense of peace and joy. Could it be that beings will experience that feeling when they have Buddha in their hearts?

According to Tien Phong