Fwd: Help Bat Nha Monastery
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Chris Lance
Oct 28, 2009, 4:57:14 PM10/28/09
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From: Franceen Williams <plaths...@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Subject: FWD: Help Bat Nha Monastery
To: Ch...@austinzencenter.org
Good afternoon Chris,
This is an e-mail from Zenju Earthlyn Manuel of the BPF. Would you mind forwarding this on to the rest of the group? Thanks.
----------
Sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email
------Original Message------
From: Zenju Earthlyn Manuel <newsl...@bpf.org>
To: <plaths...@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 27, 2009 09:48 PM
Subject: Help Bat Nha Monastery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Letter Sent to BPF
Also go to www.bpf.org to read an essay by a young monastic nun from Bat Nha Monastery
- Look under the column What Buddhists are Saying.......
Dear Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel,
We are students of Venenable Thich Nhat Hanh, and are writing on
behalf of Sister Chan Khong and the Plum Village Community in France.
As sisters in the Dharma, we are grateful for your work in helping to
bring Buddhist women of the world together and supporting the practice
and evolvement of the worldwide women's Sangha.
We are writing to you in light of the upcoming Sakyadhita Conference
in Ho Chi Minh City, and in light of recent distressful events
concerning 379 monks and nuns, students of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, in
the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It is out of deep respect for you,
and your commitment to empowering the world's Buddhist women and
improving conditions for those in developing countries, that we bring
this issue to your attention.
In recent years, Vietnam has shown growing openness in advancing
economic and religious issues, in particular Buddhism. Vietnam has
made great efforts to integrate itself into the international
community in those fields. In 2005, as part of this process Vietnam
allowed Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh to return to his homeland after 39 years
of exile. In 2008, Vietnam hosted the International Vesak Celebration,
sponsored by UNESCO, and since then the country has been welcoming
various international events to show their tolerance for religious
freedom, including the upcoming 11th International Conference on
Buddhist Women.
At the same time, there are still many serious issues concerning basic
human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam that have raised
attention and great concern within as well as outside of Vietnam.
On the 27th September 2009, after a year-long period of
harassments,
379 young monks and nuns who were peacefully practicing in the
tradition of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh at Bat Nha Monastery (situated 150km
from Ho Chi Minh City), were violently attacked and subjected to
forced eviction by a government-directed mob of a few hundred people
in the presence of police officers, in an attempt to disband the
community.
The monks and nuns, most of them aged between 15 to 25, were beaten
during the eviction and taken out into the torrential rain. The monks,
who were practicing sitting meditation as a non-violent resistance,
were sexually assaulted by a number of women in order to force them to
get up and move out. Two of the senior monks were taken away by the
police and are now under house arrest. The whereabouts of a third monk
is still unknown.
Their temple being shut down, the young monks and nuns were marched 15
kilometers in pouring rain to the nearby town of Bao Loc. Upon their
arrival--wet, tired and hungry--they were offered shelter by the Abbot
of Phuoc Hue Temple, who courageously resisted the heavy pressure that
was put on him by the local police. At the moment, the monks and nuns
are still living there under difficult and crowded conditions, lacking
sufficient sanitary facilities and sleeping on the floor without
enough blankets and warm clothing.
Ever since their arrival, Phuoc Hue Temple has been surrounded by
police watching their movements. Anyone who wishes to come in or go
out of the monastery is being checked. The monks and nuns and their
families are constantly subjected to psychological pressure by the
police, who is trying to force them to disband. We have evidence
showing that the government has plans to act again in December, in
order to "complete" their plan to disband the community and not allow
those young monks and nuns to practice together in the tradition they
have chosen.
During his visit to Vietnam in 2005, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh and his
disciples were publicly given Bat Nha Monastery by the Abbot in order
to build a Practice Center in the Plum Village tradition there. Bat
Nha then became the home temple of these young Vietnamese wishing to
practice in this tradition. Bat Nha Temple attracted many young
educated people who were inspired by and attracted to the form of
Engaged Buddhism taught by Ven.Thich Nhat Hanh. These young monks and
nuns have a wish to live and practice the tradition of their ancestors
truly, serve their society and help heal the wounds of war still
present in the hearts of people. In and outside of Bat Nha Monastery
retreats were organized for hundreds of people at a time including
many retreats for young people.
It seems that the only reason for such a violent oppression of this
young Buddhist community, of which around 200 are nuns, is the
government's ongoing unfounded fear of the outspoken, peace activist
and one of the most respected and beloved teachers in the West, Ven.
Thich Nhat Hanh and his engaged approach to the practice of Buddhism.
Many Buddhists, Catholics and intellectuals in Vietnam raised their
voice in support of these young monks and nuns, strongly criticizing
the government and asking for a just and long term solution and the
ending of the harassments. These people dared to speak out in spite of
the tight control the government has over the media and freedom of
speech, and in a country where criticizing the government can easily
lead to imprisonment. The monks of the Local Board of the Vietnamese
Buddhist Church (the government sponsored and only legal Buddhist
Church in Vietnam) dared to issue an internal report (made known to
us) testifying to the acts of violence and persecution inflicted upon
the monks and nuns by the government and calling for a peaceful
resolution that will allow them to stay together and practice
according to their aspiration.
Many outside of Vietnam are also concerned about the violation of
human rights. The US Government made an official condemnation
statement through the Ambassador to Vietnam after a fact finding
delegation was sent to Phuoc Hue and Bat Nha temples. Human Rights
Watch issued a long report condemning the actions of the Vietnamese
Government and its violation of basic human rights. Further, many
Western media outlets reported on the events.
As students of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a son of Vietnam just like
all other respected Vietnamese teachers, we feel honored and grateful
to belong to this great Vietnamese Buddhist tradition. It is a cause
of great concern to us to see how the Vietnamese Government, in spite
of making progress in protecting religious freedom, has now allowed
itself to regress to this extent. We are sad to witness such an
extreme expression of disrespect for the freedom of religion and the
Buddhist tradition, which is the backbone of Vietnamese culture.
Knowing that our sisters, as well as our brothers, are in a precarious
and critical situation, we are doing all we can to help them by trying
to move the Vietnamese Government to reconsider their view and their
way of acting upon the situation.
Specifically, we are requesting that the Vietnamese government:
1. Stop all aggression and allow the monks and nuns to live and
practice together. The police should stop all attempts to scatter,
disband, and otherwise prevent the monks and nuns from peacefully
living and practicing together in one place. The elder brothers under
house arrest should be allowed to re-join their community of practice.
Efforts to incite violence and disseminate untrue propaganda should
cease. The safety and integrity of these young Vietnamese citizens
should be restored.
2. Officially confirm the community's right to have an established
location of their own in which to practice, either in at Nha Monastery
or elsewhere, as is the case with other temples and Buddhist
Institutes in Vietnam.
3. Allow the monks and nuns to peacefully remain at their temporary
location (Phuoc Hue temple) until the situation is resolved and
another location is found. At present they continue to be harassed and
pressured to leave. The monks and nuns should be allowed to practice
and live in peace while in refuge.
Anything you could do to help protect these young monks and nuns has
the potential to bring about a change that can help not only with
resolving the current urgent situation but also open the Path for
future generations of Buddhist nuns and monks in Vietnam.
Here are some concrete ways in which you could help these monks and nuns:
· Write an
open letter
· Go visit Phuoc Hue Temple in Bao
Loc. Your physical
presence as an
· Expression of solidarity will give
great moral support for the
sisters, and would also make a public impact
· Write to the ambassador to Vietnam
from your country
· Sign the petition on
www.helpbatnha.org
· Spread
the word
In solidarity with our 200 sisters in Vietnam, who are expriencing
great suffering for the path they have chosen, we thank you for your
attention and look forward to hearing from you.
with warmest regards,
Akemi Uchida (Japan/US)
Patricia Bergink (Holland)
Carmen Lee (Hong Kong)
tel. +33 5 56 61 66 88 (Plum Village New Hamlet)
tel. +33 5 53 94 75 40 (Plum Village Lower Hamlet)
akemi...@gmail.com [mailto:akemi...@gmail.com]
helpb...@gmail.com [mailto:helpb...@gmail.com](Sister Thai Nighem, Sister Hien
Nighem)
www.helpbatnha.org [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102790571820&s=8288&e=001zTVjgXiPbbmkw9cNIaiIenmv1KlpwvKOLAgW5bDQAgvsnoS6gRBMjik39PLA0mZekMAKs68vjcaZxeShPgMZNs9WADnRux90J94QufTCkNANaWQkUWG3qg==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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From: Franceen Williams <plaths...@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Subject: FWD: Help Bat Nha Monastery
To: Ch...@austinzencenter.org
Good afternoon Chris,
This is an e-mail from Zenju Earthlyn Manuel of the BPF. Would you mind forwarding this on to the rest of the group? Thanks.
----------
Sent from AT&T's Wireless network using Mobile Email
------Original Message------
From: Zenju Earthlyn Manuel <newsl...@bpf.org>
To: <plaths...@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Oct 27, 2009 09:48 PM
Subject: Help Bat Nha Monastery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Letter Sent to BPF
Also go to www.bpf.org to read an essay by a young monastic nun from Bat Nha Monastery
- Look under the column What Buddhists are Saying.......
Dear Rev. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel,
We are students of Venenable Thich Nhat Hanh, and are writing on
behalf of Sister Chan Khong and the Plum Village Community in France.
As sisters in the Dharma, we are grateful for your work in helping to
bring Buddhist women of the world together and supporting the practice
and evolvement of the worldwide women's Sangha.
We are writing to you in light of the upcoming Sakyadhita Conference
in Ho Chi Minh City, and in light of recent distressful events
concerning 379 monks and nuns, students of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, in
the Central Highlands of Vietnam. It is out of deep respect for you,
and your commitment to empowering the world's Buddhist women and
improving conditions for those in developing countries, that we bring
this issue to your attention.
In recent years, Vietnam has shown growing openness in advancing
economic and religious issues, in particular Buddhism. Vietnam has
made great efforts to integrate itself into the international
community in those fields. In 2005, as part of this process Vietnam
allowed Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh to return to his homeland after 39 years
of exile. In 2008, Vietnam hosted the International Vesak Celebration,
sponsored by UNESCO, and since then the country has been welcoming
various international events to show their tolerance for religious
freedom, including the upcoming 11th International Conference on
Buddhist Women.
At the same time, there are still many serious issues concerning basic
human rights and religious freedom in Vietnam that have raised
attention and great concern within as well as outside of Vietnam.
On the 27th September 2009, after a year-long period of
harassments,
379 young monks and nuns who were peacefully practicing in the
tradition of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh at Bat Nha Monastery (situated 150km
from Ho Chi Minh City), were violently attacked and subjected to
forced eviction by a government-directed mob of a few hundred people
in the presence of police officers, in an attempt to disband the
community.
The monks and nuns, most of them aged between 15 to 25, were beaten
during the eviction and taken out into the torrential rain. The monks,
who were practicing sitting meditation as a non-violent resistance,
were sexually assaulted by a number of women in order to force them to
get up and move out. Two of the senior monks were taken away by the
police and are now under house arrest. The whereabouts of a third monk
is still unknown.
Their temple being shut down, the young monks and nuns were marched 15
kilometers in pouring rain to the nearby town of Bao Loc. Upon their
arrival--wet, tired and hungry--they were offered shelter by the Abbot
of Phuoc Hue Temple, who courageously resisted the heavy pressure that
was put on him by the local police. At the moment, the monks and nuns
are still living there under difficult and crowded conditions, lacking
sufficient sanitary facilities and sleeping on the floor without
enough blankets and warm clothing.
Ever since their arrival, Phuoc Hue Temple has been surrounded by
police watching their movements. Anyone who wishes to come in or go
out of the monastery is being checked. The monks and nuns and their
families are constantly subjected to psychological pressure by the
police, who is trying to force them to disband. We have evidence
showing that the government has plans to act again in December, in
order to "complete" their plan to disband the community and not allow
those young monks and nuns to practice together in the tradition they
have chosen.
During his visit to Vietnam in 2005, Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh and his
disciples were publicly given Bat Nha Monastery by the Abbot in order
to build a Practice Center in the Plum Village tradition there. Bat
Nha then became the home temple of these young Vietnamese wishing to
practice in this tradition. Bat Nha Temple attracted many young
educated people who were inspired by and attracted to the form of
Engaged Buddhism taught by Ven.Thich Nhat Hanh. These young monks and
nuns have a wish to live and practice the tradition of their ancestors
truly, serve their society and help heal the wounds of war still
present in the hearts of people. In and outside of Bat Nha Monastery
retreats were organized for hundreds of people at a time including
many retreats for young people.
It seems that the only reason for such a violent oppression of this
young Buddhist community, of which around 200 are nuns, is the
government's ongoing unfounded fear of the outspoken, peace activist
and one of the most respected and beloved teachers in the West, Ven.
Thich Nhat Hanh and his engaged approach to the practice of Buddhism.
Many Buddhists, Catholics and intellectuals in Vietnam raised their
voice in support of these young monks and nuns, strongly criticizing
the government and asking for a just and long term solution and the
ending of the harassments. These people dared to speak out in spite of
the tight control the government has over the media and freedom of
speech, and in a country where criticizing the government can easily
lead to imprisonment. The monks of the Local Board of the Vietnamese
Buddhist Church (the government sponsored and only legal Buddhist
Church in Vietnam) dared to issue an internal report (made known to
us) testifying to the acts of violence and persecution inflicted upon
the monks and nuns by the government and calling for a peaceful
resolution that will allow them to stay together and practice
according to their aspiration.
Many outside of Vietnam are also concerned about the violation of
human rights. The US Government made an official condemnation
statement through the Ambassador to Vietnam after a fact finding
delegation was sent to Phuoc Hue and Bat Nha temples. Human Rights
Watch issued a long report condemning the actions of the Vietnamese
Government and its violation of basic human rights. Further, many
Western media outlets reported on the events.
As students of Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh, who is a son of Vietnam just like
all other respected Vietnamese teachers, we feel honored and grateful
to belong to this great Vietnamese Buddhist tradition. It is a cause
of great concern to us to see how the Vietnamese Government, in spite
of making progress in protecting religious freedom, has now allowed
itself to regress to this extent. We are sad to witness such an
extreme expression of disrespect for the freedom of religion and the
Buddhist tradition, which is the backbone of Vietnamese culture.
Knowing that our sisters, as well as our brothers, are in a precarious
and critical situation, we are doing all we can to help them by trying
to move the Vietnamese Government to reconsider their view and their
way of acting upon the situation.
Specifically, we are requesting that the Vietnamese government:
1. Stop all aggression and allow the monks and nuns to live and
practice together. The police should stop all attempts to scatter,
disband, and otherwise prevent the monks and nuns from peacefully
living and practicing together in one place. The elder brothers under
house arrest should be allowed to re-join their community of practice.
Efforts to incite violence and disseminate untrue propaganda should
cease. The safety and integrity of these young Vietnamese citizens
should be restored.
2. Officially confirm the community's right to have an established
location of their own in which to practice, either in at Nha Monastery
or elsewhere, as is the case with other temples and Buddhist
Institutes in Vietnam.
3. Allow the monks and nuns to peacefully remain at their temporary
location (Phuoc Hue temple) until the situation is resolved and
another location is found. At present they continue to be harassed and
pressured to leave. The monks and nuns should be allowed to practice
and live in peace while in refuge.
Anything you could do to help protect these young monks and nuns has
the potential to bring about a change that can help not only with
resolving the current urgent situation but also open the Path for
future generations of Buddhist nuns and monks in Vietnam.
Here are some concrete ways in which you could help these monks and nuns:
· Write an
open letter
· Go visit Phuoc Hue Temple in Bao
Loc. Your physical
presence as an
· Expression of solidarity will give
great moral support for the
sisters, and would also make a public impact
· Write to the ambassador to Vietnam
from your country
· Sign the petition on
www.helpbatnha.org
· Spread
the word
In solidarity with our 200 sisters in Vietnam, who are expriencing
great suffering for the path they have chosen, we thank you for your
attention and look forward to hearing from you.
with warmest regards,
Akemi Uchida (Japan/US)
Patricia Bergink (Holland)
Carmen Lee (Hong Kong)
tel. +33 5 56 61 66 88 (Plum Village New Hamlet)
tel. +33 5 53 94 75 40 (Plum Village Lower Hamlet)
akemi...@gmail.com [mailto:akemi...@gmail.com]
helpb...@gmail.com [mailto:helpb...@gmail.com](Sister Thai Nighem, Sister Hien
Nighem)
www.helpbatnha.org [http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102790571820&s=8288&e=001zTVjgXiPbbmkw9cNIaiIenmv1KlpwvKOLAgW5bDQAgvsnoS6gRBMjik39PLA0mZekMAKs68vjcaZxeShPgMZNs9WADnRux90J94QufTCkNANaWQkUWG3qg==]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Forward email
http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?m=1011233438434&ea=plaths...@yahoo.com&a=1102790571820
This email was sent to plaths...@yahoo.com by newsl...@bpf.org.
Update Profile/Email Address
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Chris Lance
Ino (Head of Meditation Hall) / Volunteer Coordinator
Austin Zen Center - Inconceivable Joy Temple
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