Being Buddhist monks, each of us also carries these thoughts and ambitions: “to promote the Dharma is our responsibility, benefitting human beings is our profession,” to repay the debt of gratitude to the Buddha, and not to betray the aspiration of renunciation. Propagation is indispensable for today's society, requiring every Buddhist monk and nun to know how to apply the teachings of the Buddha flexibly as well as combine “compassion and wisdom,” “egoless (Anatman)/selfless,” and “throwing oneself in dangerous positions to serve and sacrifice,” but this must be suitable to the environmental situation, the people of the region, and the weather. In this way, this work can accomplish the full potential of the missionary career, bringing “good life, good Buddhism” and “loving Buddha's grace” together.
Monks and nuns need to raise their awareness through renunciation; we need to follow closely the rules and discipline of the temple or monastery, respect the precepts, practice according to the Buddha's teachings, and find for ourselves a guiding teacher to live as Dhamma sisters and brothers. We follow a suitable method to practice accordingly.
Actively learning at Buddhist schools, acquiring listening skills to cultivate both religious education and secular education, participating in local Buddhist activities, and vigorously promoting and accelerating the spread of teachings of the Buddha, combined with the opening of retreats in the area where one is staying and the timely application of Buddha's teachings to life makes the spiritual life more and more sublime. With humanitarian values and Vietnamese cultural identity, when monks evangelize wherever they go, they will work towards doing good deeds, acting in tandem with “One thousand words also do not equal a small work,” and “It's for the Dharma.” Therefore, the application of Buddhist ideological thought to today's society is a necessity for education as well as propagation.
With propagation, when we give rice and clothes or give charitable gifts to help people, this is the work of showing the Buddhist spirit of “compassion, alleviating suffering, giving happiness.” But “giving money” only brings present benefits to the needs of a human being, while “preaching the Dharma” could bring the spiritual benefit in this and next life. Thus, preaching the Dhamma has great value in providing benefits to human beings. Because the Buddha taught, “Among all gifts, the dharma has the greatest merit, no merit equals it.”
The country of Vietnam has been integrating into a globalized environment, not only culturally, but also economically, with many challenges in this period. Therefore, in order to integrate into society, monks and nuns, in addition to being properly aware of the problem of cultivation, must also be motivated to make appropriate changes to receive these challenging opportunities.
The propagation efforts of monks and nuns are being promoted and socially responded to today because the Buddha's teachings are not far from the real world, are easy to relate to, and also provide a source of practical happiness for each person in this progressive, civilized age. Therefore, monks and nuns need to commit themselves to service and engagement in spreading the Dhamma, depending on the basis of the people’s qualifications and the region more and more deeply in order to help them overcome the tragic misery of the temptations of life.
The future of Vietnamese Buddhism still contains a strong national identity and sustainable development, depending on Buddhist education through propagation. Therefore, the educational program for monks and nuns at all levels must be suitable for the era and taught in many forms, specializing in the practice of actual contact rather than the podium theory. The ancients taught that “virtue is the root, talent is the top,” so Buddhist education must promote morality, quality rather than quantity. Although the economy has developed and cultural civilization has integrated this, it is also impossible to pursue anything while forgetting its origin, because morality is the basic foundation for human personality.
Going back to the golden era of Vietnamese Buddhism many centuries ago, so many images of the Sangha record the shining examples of virtue and the spirit of strictly studying the discipline and leaving behind many works of sutras-vinaya-commentary. These examples have timeless value for Vietnamese Buddhist education, such as the late Most Venerable Thích Thiện Hoa, Thích Trí Tịnh, Thích Minh Châu. . . Venerable Bhikkhuni Như Thanh, Venerable Bhikkhuni Diệu Không, Venerable Bhikkhuni Diệu Nhân, and so on. . . but words cannot relay or match ink strokes. Compared to His Holiness, the young monks and nuns now study a great deal, do not lack foreign degrees, and are fluent in foreign languages, but sometimes their internal strength and the results of their religious practice are not satisfactory, and they quickly become bored. They become depressed easily, irritated and angry, giving up or going astray. This is the paradox that each one of us should question and give attention to, in order to achieve the correct answer and the optimal solution to the problems of today's generation of monks and nuns.
Buddhism is a religion of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” so the basic factors forming a good monk help create a good life and faith. It starts from these three factors and accompanies self-awareness and awareness; “Discipline-Meditation-Wisdom” is important to practice suitably.
The management of people and the career of educating people for future generations are extremely important tasks in all times. It always carries within itself the mission of survival vs. destruction of a generation, from the unknown to the known, the imperfect to the perfect. Therefore, in any space, time, country, or environment, the management of people and the education of people, especially the missionary role of the monk, always is the first and foremost responsibility, living in the spirit of continental peace. United living: no matter how difficult, there is a solution. This also requires the Sangha to pay due attention and plan to train the monks and nuns on the right path, especially with the younger generation of monks and nuns today.
The role and responsibility of the Buddhist Sangha is very important in social life. Therefore, society finds indispensable the monks who are dedicated to serving, those who are truly virtuous and internally as well as externally capable, awakening people's hearts, listening and understanding suffering and feeling their emotions, sharing, knowing how to practice the doctrine of “selfless selflessness” that the Buddha taught. People who work in education or propagation must always learn from experience, update their knowledge regularly, innovate ways to address reality, and communicate with others to encourage them to join. The innovation is about overcoming existing realities, opens up new things for the future, and decisively persuade people to help them lead a peaceful and liberated life in Dharma. It is true: “Monasticism is a beautiful organization; monks walk on the path, have fun, and practice liberation to find peace in life.”
In closing for this article, the author would like to send her best wishes to Venerable Dr. Thích Nữ Giới Hương on the occasion of forty years since ordination for finding her Master, studying religious education, setting her mind on renouncing home for homelessness, saving the human world, and repaying the debt of gratitude to the Buddha, as a bhikkhuni. She looks like an elder sister who has been a nun before, her pedagogical level with a simple and pure life, her mind always rejoicing, a shining example for us to follow. She is truly a worthy nun to be praised both at home and abroad:
The four-way monk's life is walking quickly
Everywhere she is, our home
Alone with the robe and bowl
All over the house are relatives.
Vietnam Buddhist University HCMC, November 27, 2019
With metta,
Bhikkhuni Tâm Thảo
Lecturer of Buddhism in English Department
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương and Venerable Tâm Thảo,
December 6, 2019 On the 35th anniversary of establishing Vietnam Buddhist University, HCMC
Rev. Viên Trang, Rev. Viên Chân, Ven. Chánh Tuệ, Ven. Giới Hương,
Ven. Tâm Thảo, Rev. Viên An, and Rev. Viên Tiến (from left)
Nuns at Hương Sen Fence
Please read all articles and view all photos: 3.16.Advice_to_propagate_in_modern_time_-_Ven_Tam_Thao.pdf
