Anyone who has been born and raised must take steps on the perpetual journey of the continuum of life. Therefore, the poet sees himself as a traveler who roams along the way and then gets puffed up in the fantasy of the impermanent world: "Wandering from all eternity, meeting from the time of reincarnation."
Our brothers in the three regions (North, Center and South) have long wandered on the “S” shape of Vietnam’s land, as these two lines well describe: "A long time we are voyagers; day by day we are far from our homeland, a thousand miles.” And then we gathered to learn together at the Second Course of the Advanced Buddhist Institute (now called Vietnam Buddhist University) in HCM City.
After passing through a long period of nearly five years (1988–1992) of learning "love and understanding," the day of graduation came; everyone knew that it was just the end of a journey that had no final destination. Because after completing the bachelor's program of this course, we depended on our goodwill, and each person continued the journey in his/her own way.
But life always has value appearing from the amazing movement inherent in life. When one door closes, another door opens. On the way ahead, there is a new, welcoming prospect; above our heads, there is the immense sky; and on the immense ground, there are a thousand turning paths for the steady, firm steps of each person.
At that time, through the friendly cooperative relationship between Vietnam and India, along with the prestige of the President, the Late Venerable Thich Minh Chau, and the Vice President, the Late Venerable Thich Chon Thien, the monastic students of the Second and Third Course, respectively, of the Advanced Buddhist Institute were allowed to go abroad to study at the Buddha’s place, India, at the higher levels, such as master’s, doctorates, and post-doctoral work in Buddhist Studies.
Among the brothers and sisters at that time, there was Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương of the second course, who went to study abroad in India like many others. At the institute, classmates knew Bhikkhuni Giới Hương as the type of person who diligently studied everywhere, taking every advantage of the breaks to search for each word definition (to save time, she rarely joined the holiday trips that were organized by the institute).
Like a hardworking bee seeking flowers, sucking nectar, and then giving fragrance to life, Bhikkhuni Giới Hương enthusiastically completed a bachelor’s degree in Buddhist Studies in 1992, then a bachelor’s in Vietnamese literature in 1994. Yes! With a fairly solid foundation, she confidently went to study in India with the desire to acquire Buddhist knowledge and practice the Buddha's teachings. It was a new beginning for a new path on the endless journey to the world of freedom, peace, and liberation, for which anyone who is a disciple of Buddha must hope, aspire, and wait.
Ten years of living and experiencing life in India, the root of the foundation of Buddhism: it was neither long nor short but was extremely important for a human life. It was this time that made her "grow and mature," and then in 2003, she graduated with a PhD in Buddhist philosophy from Delhi University. Perhaps this was also the happiest time because she fulfilled the highest academic degree and actuated her practice at the Buddha’s holy place as her dream.
She did not stop at that level of journey; life has many paths, and it is difficult to foresee them. After India, she had the destiny to go far to a new land to practice. She settled in the United States in 2005. In that foreign land, from the first days, Bhikkhuni Giới Hương also strived to overcome difficulties in order to learn, preach, and cultivate, so that the fragrance of sweet fruits could be gained. In 2015, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside, and she is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the university. It seems that no matter where she lives, whatever the language or culture, her aspiration keeps lighting up to build her wisdom as spiritual food for her to take firm steps forward in her life.
Perhaps that is Bhikkhuni Giới Hương’s character and manner on the journey of perpetual introspection towards the peaceful land with the full scent of precepts-meditation-wisdom. Therefore, reflecting on this journey, it sometimes seems to be without starting and end points to her.
Last but not least, forty years of renunciation and service is also a forty-year duration of studying and sharing the Buddha’s scriptures. In 2000, she founded Hương Sen Pagoda, Binh Chanh, Saigon (Vietnam) and in 2010 and until today, she has established and is the abbess of Hương Sen Pagoda, Perris City, California, United States. Up to now, she alone shared time between the two temples, whose distance apart is halfway around the earth, but her Dharma echoing in the two ashrams seems very near. Of further interest, she has also actively been involved in teaching at the Vietnam Buddhist University in Ho Chi Minh City as well. Perhaps the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and heavenly dharma protectors were very happy to support her often, so Bhikkhuni Giới Hương "depended on her case" to engage in Buddha’s work vigorously, without tiring.
How much merit and how many accomplishments have been manifested in her Bảo Anh Lạc Bookcase, which includes forty research works on Buddhist culture, literature, history, music, and so on, composed in bilingual English-Vietnamese, published and reprinted many times for the sake of readers. The time of forty years in this life-and-death stream is really precious, and it is more precious with the impressive presence of her forty works.
Perhaps this is the reason why people who live in the religion love the monastic life. Her monastic students and nun disciples love her and want to ask her to implement the forty-first publication for readers near and far, Forty Years in the Dharma: A Life of Study and Service—Venerable Bhikkhuni Giới Hương, as the end of a spiritual road on the endless journey for monastics studying and practicing Buddhism.
Suddenly, I remember clearly the words of Zen Master Nhat Hanh: "Don't know how to play in the Pure Land,/ Being a human is not done in a lifetime.
Vietnam Buddhist University, November 18, 2019
Bhikkhu Thích Phước Đạt
(This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Deputy Director of Vietnam Buddhist Studies Research Institute, HCMC
Cum Director of Vietnam Buddhist Literature Research Center,
Deputy Director of Vietnam Buddhist University, HCMC
Cum Head of Vietnamese Buddhism Department
Member of Executive Committee of Vietnam Literature Research Association, HCMC
Bhikkhu Phước Đạt and Bhikkhuni Giới Hương, April 14, 2019
The entire class of course II visits the Late Most Venerable T Minh Châu at
the Vietnamese Buddhist University at Campus 1
Please read all articles and view all photos:2.15._A_Spiritual_Journey-_TK_Thich_Phuoc_Dat.pdf
