Although it has been 2,600 years since the Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and turned the first Dharma wheel at the Deer Garden in Sarnath, his message of compassion and wisdom still resounds today. That is because:
Paying homage to Sangha, the noble teacher
Replaces Buddha to spread Dharma,
Depending on conditions, converting people without desire
As dignified teachers leading beings.[1]
Understanding the importance and responsibility of the Sangha, Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Hương has continued to be on the path of commitment and service in Buddhism. Regarding her forty-year journey in monastic studies and spreading the Dharma, I would like to respectfully send a few commemorative lines on the day she came to our class on bilingual Vietnamese-English translation.
Although we have met and learned under Venerable Giới Hương for only ten lessons, each time I went to class, I experienced very warm feelings. That warmth came from the peaceful figure on the podium and from the heart of a teacher, a mother who always wishes to pass all her knowledge to her young pupils and children. That warmth lies in the silent sacrifice of her crossing more than half of the earth’s circumference to fly from the USA to Vietnam to be with us. I felt even more moved when I sat in the nun's room hearing the high-pitched echoes of her voice in the classroom during the heat at noon.
Dear master, your mindful walk, compassionate eyes, sweet voice, and enthusiasm are good characteristics that will inspire us to firmly trust and remember the path we are choosing to take:
Carry the burden of life and religion on our shoulders
And include the sadness of life and death.
In the Discourse on the Analysis of Offerings[2] (Dakkhināvibhangasuttam 142), the Buddha taught,
When someone has enabled you to be free of doubt regarding suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation, it’s not easy to repay them by bowing down to them, rising up for them, greeting them with joined palms, and observing proper etiquette for them; or by providing them with robes, alms-food, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick.
As Buddha's disciples, we always bear in mind gratitude and paying it forward, but really, there is no reward commensurate to the immense merit of our teachers. And now, only our cultivation and learning are the greatest expressions of gratitude to the masters. We silently pray, may the Three Jewels bless you with good health to be a "silent ferrywoman" who takes us to the new shore of knowledge, the "sermon without words" that awakens our wandering souls in the ocean of misery.
Respectfully grateful from the bottom of our hearts!
Although our words are rudimentary and rough, we just wanted the chance to express our gratitude to you. Once again, we wish you good health. Thank you for bringing us fresh new knowledge and spreading the energy source of love to us.
Respectfully offered to Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Hương.
Vietnam Buddhist University, December 3, 2019
Genuinely,
Bhikkhuni Thuần Huy
Course 12, Dharma English class A1
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[1] “Poems on Masters,” Unknown author, https://phatgiao.org.vn/nen-tang-co-ban-cua-nguoi-tu-d39358.html, http://hanhchon.blogspot.com/2012/05/nhung-van-tho-ve-ton-su.html/.
[2] “Majjhima Nikāya (The Middle Length Sayings) 142. “Middle Discourses 142: The Analysis of Religious Donations [Dakkhināvibhangasuttam],” SuttaCentral, translated into English by Bhikkhu Sujato, https://suttacentral.net/mn142/en/sujato.
Venerable Giới Hương (second from right) and student nuns
cutting vegetables in the kitchen of institute
Please read articles and view all photos: 5.22._A_energy_source_of_love_-_Bhikkhuni_Thuan_Huy.pdf
