As usual, at the end of every year, I send New Year’s greetings to the monks and nuns whom I know and respect.
This year too, on the 29th day of the last month of the lunar year, I emailed New Year's wishes to Ven. Bhikkhuni Thích Nữ Giới Hương, whom I have had the good fortune to know for two years already . . . and this morning, when I turned on the computer, I saw your email inviting me to attend a retreat and the first full moon day and also to write two articles for the writing collections on nuns living abroad and the 40th anniversary of your studies and service in Buddhism. It is true that I had difficulty writing about this because I don't know much about the nuns’ Sangha abroad, but about Ven. Giới Hương herself, I will make an attempt.
It is not easy to write about a renunciant, especially one who is a nun . . . and it is even more difficult to write about you, someone rather famous and respected by our Buddhist Youth Association, lay Buddhists, intellectuals, as well as monastics, domestic and abroad.
Due to the modern technical satellites of Google, YouTube and websites, your activities include writing books, building temples, converting nuns and lay Buddhists, and giving sermons at monasteries, prisons, schools, churches, and so forth . . . with the aim of conveying Sakyamuni Buddha's teachings, Vietnamese Buddhism, and culture to the locals (in USA, France, Germany, etc.).
Therefore, any idea I have for writing about you would probably be something redundant and difficult. Redundancy: Because you are a person of the masses, both domestic and foreign Buddhists know about you. So now if I write more about you, it is just repeating what Buddhists already know. Difficult: You are so great; I'm just afraid that I won't say everything about you. That's a bad thing because I have only been fortunate to know you for two years.
But never mind, I will try to write about you.
Time has passed—exactly two years from the day I came to know you, when you instructed us at the retreat and I attended Vesak (Buddha's Birthday) at Hương Sen Temple on the Buddhist calendar year 2562 (Christian calendar year 2018). Now I would like to recall that time when I was fortunate to meet you.
As I have said, you did not know me before, but I had been fortunate to meet you many times at the Buddha's Birthday seasons in Miles Square Park, which were organized by the United Buddhist Sangha Overseas. I also visited Hương Sen Temple once with my friend a few years ago. That day, I remember emotion arose at first sight, inspiring me to write a poem, which I have not yet sent to you.
Most recently, we were overjoyed when we heard that you agreed to teach us, the Buddhist Youth Association, through an online course with the outstanding topic “Buddhist Thoughts in India.”
And today, on the Buddhist calendar year 2562 at Hương Sen Temple, I am coming back to study and attend Vesak. It is an opportunity for me to have the good fortune to meet you and the nuns in the temple to share sadness-happiness, the practice of concern in Buddhism, as well as to learn more about the activities of Hương Sen Temple. You are an abbess of a temple that every Buddhist near and far calls by a simple, lovely name, "countryside temple." It was an interesting meeting for us.
As soon as I got off the bus, I took a walk around the temple to breathe the fresh air of the countryside and to admire the temple scenery. Wow! My first impression was that the scenery was so calm and soothing, and I thought a countryside temple is very different from a suburban pagoda.
HƯƠNG SEN TEMPLE
To Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương
A quiet afternoon to see sunlight
The blue mountain tinged with mist
Sound from falling leaves, trees calling wind
Hương Sen radiates a fresh fragrance.
* * *
The landscape blends with nature
Come here to find some peace
Away from town, a tumultuous life
Release the soul to the spiritual, original place.
* * *
Travelers come here to visit the Buddha Hall
Forgetting all things in mundane daily life
Return here to look for a bit of serenity
Trying to get away from disturbing objects.
* * *
Stop thinking of sadness
Let illusion fall away, find calm
Buddhists far and near look forward
To find happiness in the meditative way.
Hương Sen, May 26, 2018
Vesak, Buddha Calendar 2562
Tâm Tường – Lê đình Cát
The temple is located in a large, beautiful place convenient for the Buddhist Youth Association’s camps and for long-term monastic training courses. It is still rudimentary and in the first phase of building, which results in lack of means and accommodations. What to do when you are a nun? So, we are waiting for a wonderful blessing from the celestial beings.
Deep in thought about it, suddenly, I remembered that I had to go greet you. I hurried to the main hall, and luckily you were talking with Buddhists there. Unexpectedly, you were so young, more than I imagined. I listened to your voice on teachings online and read about your background on websites, so I thought you had to be over sixty years old to have had enough time to make such significant contributions. Despite this being the first time we met, our interaction felt close and friendly. It seemed like we had known each other for a long time. After asking about your health and talking with you, I excused myself to have a late dinner.
While I was having dinner, you came down and talked with me . . .
You smilingly said, “Tâm Tường, you probably know that this is a nunnery and you are the only male Buddhist this time.”
“Yes, I know. When I received your invitation via email and later on the phone, I thought about this matter and felt a bit embarrassed, but we are Buddhist disciples. I keep mindfulness and stay in a separate area, so I accepted your invitation without hesitation.”
“That's good! Well, it's very late. We have two more days to talk. Now, you should go to bed because you have to get up early in the morning to attend the early morning chant (Surangama Mantra) with the nuns.”
You called inside, “Oh, where is Rev. Viên Tiến? Did you arrange a room for Tâm Tường yet?”
From the main hall, there was a northern-sounding "yes," and then a nun came down to greet and guide me.
“Please follow me.”
I bent down to carry the luggage bag, but she took it before I could and said, “Let me carry it for you.”
Walking along two mobile homes on the side of the pagoda, Rev. Viên Tiến directed me to a good room. At first glance, I knew that this room was occupied, so I turned to her. She understood what I meant. She explained, “This is a lady's room. During festivals when a large number of Buddhists come to attend, we must evacuate and yield to visitors. Please don't hesitate. And this time, you may be the priority because you are alone in this room, which often serves as a double room.”
“Yes, Tâm Tường thanks you. Oh, then where will the owners of this room sleep?”
“We go to in the main hall. We just spreading a mattress, and that is large enough for many people.”
“That inconveniences you. Let me go to sleep in the main hall.”
“No. It is not like that. You are older and there are many ladies.”
“Oh, I will follow your arrangements for me. Thank you.”
“Good night! Tomorrow morning Viên Tiến will wake you up early to join the morning prayer.”
“Yes, thank you . . . oh, but Rev. Viên Tiến, just now you said that you still go to school?”
“Yes, we all go to school . . . you know? Rev. Liên Hiếu is studying in a master’s program while I am learning ESL (English as a second language).”
“Wow! I really admire all of you. By the way, remember to wake me up.”
“Yes, take rest. There is a big sound from the great bell to wake you up.”
“Really, it is okay.”
I was probably tired and just had a tooth extracted a few days before, so my tooth hurt. I was also thinking about the immeasurable hearts of the young nuns who kindly yield their rooms for visitors every time the pagoda has ceremonies or retreats. Nuns need to prepare everything, such as welcoming visitors, transportation, meals, sleep, and so on. How compassionate you and the other nuns are! Due to such thoughts, I could not sleep. Suddenly the wonderful bell from afar echoed—the nuns hit the bell every morning, a sound I hadn’t heard for a long time downtown. It was surprising and interesting for me, the author of this article, a senior leader in the Buddhist Youth Association for many years and also someone who has attended many monastic training courses.
But this time, I enjoyed a good feeling in the countryside as I listened to the sacred bell on this tranquil morning, a sound that has been imprinted in my heart. Suddenly, fresh emotion arose . . . (perhaps because I was the only male Buddhist in this nunnery, or because it is a wonderful bell for inspiring lost souls to quickly come back to this quiet place of Zen in order to cultivate and improve their minds and avoid bad karma). The bell woke up all the people in the temple so they could prepare for their assigned duties for the two main ceremonies (that day was the retreat, and the next day was Buddha's Birthday).
Through your teachings, I woke up early that morning to recite the Surangama Mantra, and after that enjoyed a good breakfast with the nuns.
After breakfast, each of us took care of his or her job, such as cleaning the yard, decorating the temple, setting tables, and arranging sutras and books to prepare for the retreat.
At 8 am, everyone gathered at the main hall to listen to your lecture about the meaning of the fasting day.
In your lecture, you explained to the group about the effectiveness of reciting the Great Compassion Dharani Mantra and attending the retreat day, which the Buddha's disciples consider a gift offered to the Buddha on his birthday.
During the break, I took advantage of the time to explore the life of the nuns in the temple so that I could contribute more vivid descriptions of the activities in this article.
After conversation with the nuns, I came to know that Hương Sen Temple was founded in 2013 in this remote Perris; there are not many Vietnamese Buddhists there, so there were shortages in many areas.
The morning after the Buddha’s Bath ceremony was completed, I took a walk in and around the temple to observe and gather information for my report about the two days of practice and Vesak at Hương Sen Pagoda. The visiting room in the center of the building is used as a main hall. Although it is narrow, thanks to the nuns’ skilled hands, it looks very solemn and sacred. On the left side is a small kitchen, and outside there are two prefabricated mobile homes, each having three rough, rudimentary rooms for guests.
A special thing about Hương Sen Temple is that the nuns (disciples of Ven. Bhikkhuni Giới Hương) are all studying. On top of the monastic duties of reciting and praying at the temple every day and night, the nuns also go to school, so they are rather knowledgeable and have high educational degrees. For example, one is studying in a master’s program while another is gaining a doctorate. How precious they are! This is something about the abbess and the nuns that I greatly admired.
Another particular point I realized is that even when the nuns are working hard, they have innocent, kindly smiles on their faces. Truly, whatever the time, space or environment, the Buddha's disciples are ready to take on and fulfill the responsibilities and duties they have vowed to undertake. The monastics are usually trying to cultivate and learn to transmit the Buddha's teachings to the human world in order to help everyone who can understand the method of Buddhism to transform their misery. That is the will and the ideal of the Buddha's disciples, especially the monks and nuns.
After I had a good sleep, suddenly the bell resounded in the vast sky to wake all the Buddhists in the temple so they could prepare for work and get ready for the main ceremony.
I got out of bed and went out to enjoy the fresh morning air in the hills of the countryside. Somewhere, birds called to each to other, their cries resounding in a corner of the sky, breaking the silence of the desolate mountains . . . Oh! Morning in the suburbs is peaceful and interesting. I was walking while watching the sun slowly emerge at the mountaintop in front of the temple. Then I went back to the room to wash my face and then to chant and attend Vesak. And that day, right in Hương Huong Sen Temple, I was honored to be asked by you to be the MC for the Buddha's birthday ceremony. I was so surprised and happy to be able to take on this important responsibility for the ceremony.
These are all memories of the year 2018 for me to write about in “You and the Nuns in a Countryside Temple.” You are highly motivated and knowledgeable about both the mundane and supermundane. You are kind and friendly with all kinds of people even though you hold a high degree and are fluent in many languages. This is something very valuable for Buddhism.
Thanks to your knowledge and fluency in foreign languages, especially English, you can take part as a chaplain in prisons and public places with the aim of conveying the teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha, as well as introducing Asian culture, in particular that of Vietnam, to the overseas Vietnamese-American community or local Americans.
Every year, you go back to Vietnam to teach a Dharma English course at Vietnam Buddhist University in Saigon, sharing your knowledge and scholastic experience with young student monks and nuns in Vietnam.
Moreover, you are gifted at writing. Your Buddhist books and essays are written in English and Vietnamese. Your lyrics (which are also a practical means for preaching) bring the religion to life, with the hope that life and religion will merge together so that people can understand and cultivate a mind to end suffering. It is very exciting that you created Bảo Anh Lạc Bookshelf (please visit huongsentemple.com), in which many valuable works, including the bilingual English-Vietnamese News, are displayed.
Despite such achievements, you are always humble and in harmony with people, which is the virtue and style of a true Buddhist. You are modest in communication with the monks and nuns, the elders, but also with young renunciants as well as laypeople. To all, you have the same manners, extremely polite, gracious and generous.
I remember at the Buddha's Birthday in 2018, while you and I were both busy preparing for the opening ceremony, I praised your skill and virtue, and suddenly, I asked you some questions. Your answers were truly noble.
“Dear Venerable Giới Hương, with your potential and talent, why do you not live in the areas surrounding Orange County or Los Angeles, where there are many Vietnamese Buddhist communities? It would be convenient for supporting the finances for you to build a monastery. Why did you choose this remote area to build a temple (dry, bare land in the semi-desert area of Perris in the Riverside area)?
Ven. Giới Hương just smiled modestly and answered:
“Before answering this question, I would like to thank you because it is a surprising and interesting question that I have repeatedly asked myself. Isn’t this also a coincidence showing the connection between us? You see, if I live in crowded urban places, then there would not be this predestined relationship between you and me. You came here because you like the countryside, and as a result, today we can meet here in a master-disciple relationship, right?
“Yes, that is correct, Master!”
“As nuns, we must engage in difficult and challenging works. We believe where we live and spread Buddhism is ‘predestined’ or the Buddha’s decree, so wherever we go, we must try our best to serve others. That is our purpose and the mission of propagation: bringing religion into our lives.
“You know, before coming here and setting up this temple, I thought a lot about the fact that there are many temples in Orange county and Los Angeles that do not need me anymore. The reason this ‘semi-desert’ area was chosen is that we are the Buddha's disciples and especially, as nuns, regardless of time and space, we will be there, wherever people need us. If I have a predestined relationship with a place or with local persons, that is the place for me to ‘abide’ to spread Buddhism. Remote areas often lack Dharma sources and Buddhist temples, so our presence would be meaningful, precious and necessary, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, Master. That is right and reveals the mind of the Tathagata’s messenger. The Buddha is as such. But one thing that makes me worry is that the temple is too rudimentary and lacks many facilities. If you want to have a solemn temple with full accommodations, you and your nuns will have to spend a lot of time, money, labor and so forth. How do you manage when you all are female nuns with weak limbs?”
And when writing these words, I suddenly felt deep devotion and compassion for you and your nun disciples and the fellow Buddhists in that remote countryside of Hương Sen Temple.
“Yes, this is an area for American and Mexican communities, without many Vietnamese Buddhists. That's a hard problem for the nuns and the temple in terms of maintenance and development.”
So through this article, I hope good Buddhist sponsors everywhere please support Venerable Giới Hương and the nuns so that in the future, Hương Sen will be a well-equipped nunnery for Buddhist people to visit from far and near in order to study. May the Buddha bless it.
And even if someone has the karma to talk to you once and only once, he or she would have complete respect for you owing to your three aspects of compassion-wisdom–bravery, tolerance and generosity. They would admire your way of teaching and treating your ten nun disciples, who are elders specializing in chanting, while the younger nuns, in addition to practicing, also go to college. Among them some have already graduated with masters and PhDs. In addition, lay Buddhists also come to the temple to study Buddhism (such as Tâm Tường).
Wow! I really admire Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương. You have truly practiced properly, following the motto of Buddhism to bring religion to life in a remote area so that religion and life will blend together. As a result, people will understand Buddhism and live beautiful lives, and they will discover the art of living without suffering. That is exactly the doctrine of Buddhism. It is also about people who know how to learn about Buddhism in accordance with the true meaning of Buddhism.
That is something that our Buddha's disciples always wish to accomplish. And that is also the same heart rhythm of the Buddha's disciples during these two days of practice and Vesak.
These are my heartfelt words to offer for the writing collection about Venerable Thích Nữ Giới Hương and Hương Sen Temple.
LOOKING IN THE DISTANCE
To Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương
Lonely in the vast world
Watching the falling leaves
Feeling bored with life
Regardless of sun, earth . . . change the game.
* * *
Never mind gain, loss
Why keep competing?
Fame is a worldly purpose
Realizing this, there is tranquility.
* * *
Where to find a little peace?
Refuge. . . seclusion at the Zen door
Practice to keep the mind pure
Looking in the distance . . . sense of enlightenment has come.
Lake Forest, Autumn in Pig Earth, 2019
Tâm Tường – Lê đình Cát
We pray that throughout this life, you will always be Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương, humble, kindhearted, generous and diligent in transforming human beings. May you always compose good poems, write meaningful discourses and also deliver more Dharma sermons so that you and other renunciants act as messengers of the Tathagata, raising the torch of wisdom to light the path for our Buddhists. Thus, the noble images of Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương and Buddhist monks and nuns will never fade in our minds . . .
And thanks especially to your noble characteristics, more and more fellow Buddhists from afar come to Hương Sen Pagoda in particular, and to Buddhism in general. They approach the temple with sincere hearts and faith in Buddhism.
Once Buddhists have gained faith and respect for monks and nuns, they will eagerly go to temples, monasteries, lecture halls often to learn about the Dharma. They will attend retreats to nurture virtue, morality and personality traits. This is because the teachings of the Buddha are the teachings of love and wisdom. “Where there is suffering, Buddhism will be there to ease the pain. Where there is Buddhism, there will be peace and happiness for sentient beings.”
In this way, the meditative door is "A Place to Find the Way Back" (Nơi Chốn Tìm Về), or rather, "The Way to the Temple" (Đường về Già Lam), where the Buddha's disciples can take refuge to cultivate and study Buddhism through sutras, verses and sermons. The monks and nuns have guided us in the Dharma for the sake of many.
The above thoughts left in my heart are useful and interesting and also spring from this place (Hương Sen Temple). I always remember the teachings of the abbess, Venerable Giới Hương. Your gentle words, the nuns’ smiles, and the beloved faces of Buddhist brothers and sisters from near and far are very familiar and close to my heart. So happy we are!
Since that time, I too must attempt to achieve the aspirations and ideals in which I have chosen to engage: that is, to serve the Dharma and enthusiastically pass on what I have learned from the monks and nuns to younger people in the future so that they can propagate Buddhism and bring Dharma into life. [1]
Early Spring of the Mouse Year
Liên Hoa Temple, Garden Grove January 2, 2020
Regardfully,
Tâm Tường – Lê đình Cát
Buddhist Youth Association Leader
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Author Tâm Tường standing on the left
while Venerable Giới Hương gives a speech on the
Buddha's Birthday, May 27, 2018
Please take the time to read all articles and view all photos: 6.18.Nuns_at_a_countryside_temple_-_Tam_Tuong.pdf
[1] This essay is based on the article, "A Place to Find the Way Back" (Nơi Chốn Tìm Về), Tâm Tường, The Vietnamese Buddhist Cultural Magazine (Tập San VHPGVNHN).
