BAT NHA MONASTERY IS DESTROYED
The Vietnamese government and the Religious Committee have won. Their victory is that Bat Nha is completely destroyed. Everything is smashed. All the monks and nuns have been evicted from the monastery and the buildings have been stripped bare.
Our monastics brothers and sisters have done their part, that is they have responded faithfully to every challenge with non-violence, compassion and forgiveness. And yes, they have won.
Now we rest on the conscience of the government and of the people, inside and outside of Vietnam.
We do not blame anyone. We have no anger toward anyone. We know that our enemies are not people; they are greed, hatred and ignorance.
Bat Nha monastery was Vietnam’s fastest-growing and most radical monastery – and the one most popular among Vietnamese youth. All but a handful of the hundreds of monks and nuns ordained in the last three years are aged 15-25. Bat Nha was famed for its monthly mindfulness days, which regularly attracted crowds of 800 people, with bus-loads traveling up to 400 km from the big cities of Saigon, Da Nang and Nha Trang. This high-mountain monastery, renowned for its natural beauty, waterfalls and forests, came to popular fame when it was featured as a modern spiritual sanctuary for the young heroine of the national Stepfather television soap.
Over 350 young Bat Nha monks and nuns are currently at Chùa Phước Huệ temple in Bảo Lộc, Vietnam. This is where they have been given temporary sanctuary after their violent eviction from Bat Nha on Sunday 27th. The situation is very difficult. The temple is normally only for 5 monks; there are now 400 of them in that space, in dire sanitary conditions. The police have surrounded the temple and threatening more violence. The aim of the police is to break up the monastic sangha, at all costs. But the monks and nuns assert their right to stay together, as a sangha. Without a sangha we are alone and vulnerable, like a tiger that has left the mountain.
If you wish to send a message of support directly to the monks and nuns, it may be very encouraging for them to read in this difficult and challenging moment. They need to know that we are all here for them.
Send messages to: we.are.all.here.for.you[at]gmail.com
Taken from Plum Village website.
0 comments:
Post a Comment