{"id":158131,"date":"2009-09-01T12:41:15","date_gmt":"2009-09-01T10:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/plumvillage.org\/about\/thich-nhat-hanh\/letters\/a-young-monastics-dream\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T12:24:34","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T10:24:34","slug":"a-young-monastics-dream","status":"publish","type":"letter","link":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/about\/thich-nhat-hanh\/letters\/a-young-monastics-dream","title":{"rendered":"A Young Monastic\u2019s Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

My dear students, near and far,<\/p>\n

\"\"In the Daily Chanting book, there is a chant that I really liked when I was a novice. The prose of this piece is very beautiful, and its content has a great capacity to nourish the aspiration of monastics. Every time the novice Ph\u00f9ng Xu\u00e2n [Th\u1ea7y\u2019s earlier name] chanted that piece, he allowed the words to embrace him and penetrate deeply into his blood vessels and into every cell of his body. This chant is a monastic\u2019s beautiful dream, and I have a lot of gratitude to the Zen master who wrote it. You already know that chant, it is the Beginning Anew and Refuge Chant for Life. Its original title is The Vow Chant. Zen master Jiao Ran (\u768e \u7136) wrote it during the Tang dynasty. He was very famous as a poet and writer. He was the one who wrote the epitaphs for the first Zen masters. Y\u00ed Shan (\u6021\u5c71) is the mountain where he lived. People called him Zen master Y\u00ed Shan (\u6021\u5c71) instead of Zen master Jiao Ran (\u768e \u7136), out of respect. Before becoming a monk, his last name was Xie (\u8c22) and his first name was Qing Zhou (\u8bf7 \u665d). The famous work he transmitted to us is the Collection of the Storage Mountain, Chu Shan Ji (\u5132 \u5c71 \u96c6), a collection of ten volumes.<\/p>\n

In the commentaries of the Daily Chanting Book, Zen master Guan Yue (\u89c0\u6708) wrote: \u2018If you don\u2019t like this Beginning Anew and Refuge Chant for Life, then you can replace it with another one, like Touching the Earth Chant, the Chant to the Buddhas in the Ten Directions and of the Three Times, or One-Pointed-Mind Refuge Chant.\u2019 But who doesn\u2019t like this chant? I think that many, many generations of monastics have been nourished and comforted by this chant. Even before I was twenty years old, I dreamed of translating it into Vietnamese. And that dream was realized when I was a young Dharma teacher at The Nam Vi\u1ec7t Buddhist Institute. I translated it into the traditional Vietnamese form of a six-eight-verse poem. At that time, many monks and nuns in the Institute (\u1ea4n Quang Temple) learned it by heart. That chant is currently published in our book Chanting from the Heart and other daily chanting books in different languages.<\/p>\n

The majority of the verses in the Chinese text consist of four or six words, skillfully selected to create a tone that is at times gentle and soothing, and other times vigorous and powerful.<\/p>\n

\u2018In my next life, thanks to holy seeds of wisdom that have been planted in this life, may I be reborn into an environment with a rich culture, and as I grow, may I be fortunate to meet a wise teacher and be ordained in my childhood. May my six senses be keen and my body, speech and mind be harmonious. May I not be polluted by worldly habit energies and may I live a holy and benevolent life. I will diligently practice the precepts and mindful manners. Free from worldly karma, I will know how to protect all living beings, even the smallest ones.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I will practice the authentic Dharma and will understand deeply the Mahayana teachings. I will be able to open the door of action to the six paramitas and realize what other practitioners have to spend billions of lifetimes in order to realize.\u2019<\/p>\n

My dear, reading these words, do you feel that these are great dreams? How can we give rise to such aspirations if we don\u2019t have the seed of bodhicitta or a bodhisattva vow?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s continue to read the next section together :<\/p>\n

\u2018I will establish practice centers everywhere. I will break the many layers in the net of doubt. I will conquer all obstacles of temptation and will transmit the lamp of the True Dharma, so that the Three Jewels will keep shining forever in the future. I will assist all the buddhas in the ten directions and never tire. I will practice and realize all the Dharma doors. I will cultivate insight and do social service for the benefit of all beings in the world. I will attain the six miraculous powers and realize the fruit of awakening right in this lifetime.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Afterwards, I will not leave the world of reality, but will be present in all places. The energy of my compassion will not be less than that of Avalokita, and my ocean of vows will be as vast as Samantabhadra\u2019s.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018In this world and other worlds, I will manifest in different bodies in order to spread the wonderful Dharma.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018In the realms of hells and hungry ghosts, I will radiate light, or perform miracles so that whoever sees me or hears my name will give rise to the mind of love and immediately overcome all suffering.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018All the lifeless lands parched dry by fire, all the rivers frozen by ice, I will transform into lush and fragrant forests.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018During times of epidemics, I will create a myriad of herbal medicines to heal even incurable sicknesses. In times of severe famine, I will produce an abundance of grains to alleviate hunger and poverty.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I will not decline any work that will bring benefits to all people.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018I will help everyone, friends and foes in many lifetimes, as well as relatives in this life, so that each can release the bonds of attachment, and together with all living beings, we will attain enlightenment.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018My aspiration is even more boundless than space itself. I vow that all beings, sentient and non-sentient, will all attain the fruits of the highest awakening.\u2019<\/p>\n

The words of this chant long ago watered the bodhicitta seeds of the young novice chanting every morning. He did not know why, but he always believed that that dream would come true, even though all around him, there was no sign to indicate it, and no one had been able to realize it yet.<\/p>\n

The words of this chant are so beautiful that I\u2019ve been using them as Dharma names for ordinees at Plum Village. For example, Ch\u00e2n H\u01b0\u01a1ng L\u00e2m is the name given to the venerable nun \u0110\u00e0m Nguy\u1ec7n who lives in Han\u00f4i. H\u01b0\u01a1ng L\u00e2m means fragrant forests. \u2018All the lifeless lands parched dry by fire, all the rivers frozen by ice, I will transform them into lush and fragrant forests.\u2019<\/p>\n

It is truly poetic, as well as aligned with our aspiration to protect the environment. The verses are so powerful that we feel as if we are no longer small devotees praying, but great beings with miraculous power to liberate all beings without exceptions. \u2018The energy of my compassion will not be less than that of Avalokita, and my ocean of vows will be as vast as Samantabhadra\u2019s.\u2019 Those reciting this chant no longer have an inferiority complex, and feel they too capable of accomplishing the deeds of these great bodhisattvas.<\/p>\n

Such verses can shake the whole being of those who chant them: \u2018Whoever sees me or hears my name will give rise to the mind of love and immediately overcome all suffering.\u2019 We know: I\u2019m not less than any buddha or bodhisattva on his or her path of service.<\/p>\n

Is it just a dream? Or is it something to be realized?<\/p>\n

Many generations of practitioners, including you, have chanted this refuge chant, and have probably asked this question. I myself did not ask it. Even though around me, there was no sign to indicate that the dream could be realized, I kept it in my heart and held the conviction that it would come true. The 1940\u2019s and 50\u2019s were decades of war and hunger. The monastics tried every way possible to maintain the practice within the boundaries of their temples, but still, they encountered many difficulties. Even young monastics were oppressed, imprisoned, and murdered. As a young monk, I studied the history of the Ly and Tran dynasties and understood that if Buddhism had the capacity to strengthen and sustain the nation\u2019s peace and prosperity during those periods, then it should still have the same capacity in our time. Why not? That was my question, even though during those decades, Buddhism was still incapable of overcoming the situation of decline. Perhaps the great contributions of Buddhism during the Ly and Tran dynasties gave me confidence that this dream was not merely a dream but something to be realized.<\/p>\n

When I was a young Dharma teacher at \u1ea4n Quang monastery, I translated that chant with a humble language. I translated this passage: \u2018The energy of my compassion will not be less than that of Avalokita, and my ocean of vows will be as vast as Samantabhadra\u2019s\u2019 as: \u2018The rain of loving kindness permeates the worlds of gods and men, the vow of helping all beings is the vast ocean of action.\u2019 \u2018Whoever sees me or hears my name will give rise to the mind of love and immediately overcome all suffering\u2019 was translated as \u2018Upon seeing that image or hearing that name, it\u2019s enough for all beings to be liberated from all bondage and pain.\u2019 For many years living in the West, I did not have a chance to chant that translation again, so all but a few sections faded from my memory until Venerable Nh\u01b0 Hu\u1ec7, abbot of Ph\u00e1p Hoa Temple in Australia, came to Plum Village in the summer of 1994 as one of the witnesses in the H\u01b0\u01a1ng T\u00edch Ceremony of Full Ordination. He recited it for me and I copied down the whole text. Venerable Nh\u01b0 Hu\u1ec7 had memorized it back when he was a young monk studying at the Nam Vi\u1ec7t Buddhist Institute, about fifty years ago. Thanks to that encounter, we have been able to restore the translation of the chant in our Vietnamese Daily Chanting book, and we have now translated it into English and other languages. I think we need to chant it at least once every week, so that our bodhicitta can be continuously nourished. Bodhicitta is the vow, the aspiration, the dream of authentic practitioners. If our bodhicitta is eroded, we will not have enough energy to go forward and realize our dream.<\/p>\n

Tonight, during the sitting meditation, let us contemplate in order to see that our dream is slowly coming true.<\/p>\n

\u2018In my next life may I be reborn as a human being, encountering the Dharma and living the life of an authentic practitioner under the guidance of wise teachers.\u2019 This has been fulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u2018My six senses, body, speech and mind are all in harmony, free from the circle of Samsara; I wholeheartedly practice mindfulness with my body and go forward on the path. Practicing chastity, I am far from the world of suffering.\u2019 That is our daily practice of precepts and mindful manners.<\/p>\n

\u2018Practice centers are established in all places; the net of doubt is totally swept away from deep within and without.\u2019 This is what we are muadiligently doing. Today, our sanghas are present all around the world. There are hundreds of groups in many countries practicing mindful living together. Big cities like New York, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Berlin have many sanghas. Retreats are organized everywhere. Works on engaged Buddhism have become a net of Dharma, clearing misunderstandings, misperceptions and doubt about Buddhism, revealing Buddhism to be a scientific humanism, not a theocratic religion, not superstitious or pessimistic. That is the meaning of \u2018The net of doubt is totally swept away from deep within and without.\u2019\"\"<\/p>\n

\u2018Transmitting the Dharma Lamp to continue the endless stream.\u2019 We have trained many Dharma teachers and Dharma teacher apprentices, monastics as well as lay. Currently, over 300 people have received the Lamp.<\/p>\n

\u2018We aspire to bring medical aid to the sick, food to the hungry. With joy and happiness, we bring much benefit to all those who suffer in the world.\u2019 This is social service, one part of applied Buddhism, of engaged Buddhism. We founded the School of Youth and Social Service where we trained over 600 social workers and thousands of assistants and volunteers. Pilot villages (Hoa Ti\u00eau and T\u1ef1 Nguy\u1ec7n) were established in order to increase the quality of life, focusing on the four areas of education, health care, economy and organization. Our social workers wholeheartedly helped war victims and cared for people in refugee camps, some of which held up to 11,000 people. They restored villages ravaged by war and built up new villages. Our Association of Social Restoration and Development worked with the Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church (1972-1975). We had a program supporting over 10,000 war orphans. With our Boat People Program, we rescued people adrift at sea. We established the organization Pour les Enfants du Vietnam, then Partage avec les Enfants du Monde, helping children from 17 countries including Vietnam. Our Understanding and Love Program has been providing aid for flood victims, helping the poor by offering instruction in technical trades, building bridges, digging wells, opening basic schools for children living in remote areas and providing lunch for them, paying the salaries of thousands of teachers and childcare workers.*<\/p>\n

The wonderful thing is that while these social workers do their jobs, they practice mindfulness trainings, sitting meditation, walking meditation, build brotherhood and sisterhood and learn to flow as one river….<\/p>\n

\u2018I will not decline any work that will bring benefits to all people.\u2019 This is our vow of service.<\/p>\n

Our Dharma teachers, some of whom are still in their youth, are really bringing Buddhism into the world, engaged Buddhism. We have organized special retreats for people from all professions and backgrounds: social workers, artists, movie actors and film makers, educators, business people, physicians and nurses, congressmen and senators, police officers, peace activists, ecologists, etc. In some retreats, up to 2000 participants attended, like the one in Washington DC for psychologists and psychotherapists. We have introduced the practice in jails and hospitals to help people heal and transform.<\/p>\n

Starting from engaged Buddhism, we have moved forward to applied Buddhism, including the Wake Up movement for young people in the world — practice communities for a healthy and compassionate society. We have founded the European Institute of Applied Buddhism, offering retreats to parents who have difficulties with their children, to young people who have lost communication with their parents, to those who have just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, to those who have just lost their loved ones. Anyone can come and practice without having to become Buddhist. The Buddhism that we offer to the world is not a religion, but an art of living, with methods to transform and heal…<\/p>\n

\"\"We are doing our best to preserve the environment, both by way of our own practice and inspiring others to live in such a way that the Earth has a future, that the process of global warming can be reversed. Our Deer Park Monastery is currently running entirely on solar energy. All our practice centers and sanghas are practicing mindful consumption, with one car-free day per week… All of these initiatives prove that we are committed to realizing our dream with determination, that we are not simply sitting around letting the chant carry us away to a utopian fantasy.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Buddhism with its mindfulness practice has gradually been incorporated into the areas of law, science, medical and social studies. The Buddhist spirit of tolerance, of non-dualistic view and non-attachment to views has started to be acknowledged by the world. In the midst of globalization, Buddhism can offer important contributions toward a universal ethic. We know this dream can come true, and it is coming true. If we are not caught in status, fame, money, praise, etc.; if we know how to go with the sangha as a river, and not as a separate drop of water, then we will have more chance to realize this dream. Isn\u2019t that right, my dear? I hope to hear your feedback after you read this letter.<\/p>\n

Your teacher,
\nNh\u1ea5t H\u1ea1nh<\/p>\n

Since 1961, the Saigon Buddhist Student Association and other Buddhist students like Hu\u00ea D\u01b0\u01a1ng, Chi\u1ec3u, Khanh, Chi, Nhi\u00ean, and Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng have offered these services in poor districts, like M\u00e3 L\u1ea1ng Qu\u1ed1c Thanh and C\u1ea7u B\u00f4ng B\u00e0n C\u1edd, and night classes at the high school level for free. In 1964-65, we have started building “Love Villages” with your eldest brother Nh\u1ea5t Tr\u00ed, brothers T\u00e2m Quang, T\u00e2m Th\u00e1i, and a hundred Buddhist students, including Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng, Th\u1ea3o, Thanh, Uy\u00ean, Tuy\u1ebft, Quy\u1ec1n, Tr\u00e2m, Nguy\u00ean, T\u00edch, Thanh, and T\u00e0i. We have organized groups of students to raise funds for flood and famine victims living along the Thu B\u1ed3n River following the 1964 typhoon.
\n We have established the School of Youth and Social Service (1965-1975) and the Association of Social Restoration and Development (1971-1975, under the leadership of Venerable Thi\u1ec7n H\u00f2a). Brothers Thanh V\u0103n, Ch\u00e2u To\u00e0n, T\u1eeb M\u1eabn, and Ph\u1ea1m Ph\u01b0\u1edbc were among the bodhisattva\u2019s arms coordinating thousands of social workers, assistants, and volunteers who accomplished so many projects to help tens of thousands of war victims. Seventeen of them died in the course of their missions, including Li\u00ean, Vui, Th\u01a1, Tu\u1ea5n, Hy, L\u00e0nh, and your elder brother Nh\u1ea5t Tr\u00ed. B\u00f9i Th\u1ecb H\u01b0\u01a1ng had to have her leg amputated, and L\u00ea V\u0103n Vinh has to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Nh\u1ea5t Chi Mai, eldest sister of the first six members of our Order of Interbeing, immolated herself on July 16, 1967 to call for peace between the warring sides.
\n As part of our Boat People Program in the South China Sea, in 1976 Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng (Sister Ch\u00e2n Kh\u00f4ng), Luke Fogarty, Trang Fogarty, Kirsten Roep, and Mobi Warren rescued 606 people. Ph\u01b0\u1ee3ng organized an underground mission to rescue boat people with our fishing boat in the Bay of Thailand, from 1976 to 1978. Then we established another program to assist boat people, sending spiritual and material support, English and French textbooks, and chanting books to the refugee camps in Songklha, Trad, Sikkhiu, Chonburi…
\n From 1975 until now, we have been silently helping the hungry children and the poor elderly with the Understanding and Love Social Assistant Program. In the West, this program has been wholeheartedly supported by Kirsten Roep and Hebe Kohbrugge in the Netherlands, and by Pour les Enfants du Vietnam, Partage avec les Enfants du Monde, and Partage (with Pierre Marchand) in France. Through the latter two programs, we have aided hungry children in seventeen underdeveloped countries including Bangladesh, India, Lebanon, Brazil, and Colombia. The Maitreya Funds in Germany was founded by Ch\u00e2n Ph\u00e1p Nh\u00e3n (Karl Schmied) and Ch\u00e2n Di\u1ec7u T\u1eeb, and now is continued by Ch\u00e2n Gi\u00e1c L\u01b0u (Christian K\u1ea3ufl). The Swiss Sangha, with Margrit Witwer, and the Italian Sangha have been fully supporting our Understanding and Love Program. The Boat of Compassion Sangha led by Ch\u00e2n \u00dd and Ch\u00e2n Tr\u00ed (Anh H\u01b0?ng and Th\u01b0 Nguy\u00ean) has supported over 600 hungry children in Qu\u1ea3ng Tr\u1ecb and Th\u1eeba Thi\u00ean. Snow Flower Sangha has donated dozens of wells to big families living in remote areas without electricity and running water. Minh and Li\u00ean with their Compassionate Eye Program have annually cooperated with Toronto Sangha to support many flood victims. Hussman Foundation in the US has supported 75 teachers and childcare workers, and over 700 malnourished children in the provinces B\u1ea3o L\u00e2m and Di Linh, as well as donating funds to build the meditation hall at Prajna Monastery. Lilian Cheung has contributed to build the nunneries Di\u1ec7u Nghi\u00eam and Di\u1ec7u Tr\u1ea1m.<\/p>\n

In the early years 1975-1990, when social services still encountered many obstacles, thanks to Venerable Nun T\u1ecbnh Nguy\u1ec7n and Thu\u1ea7n, we were able to smuggle gifts for people suffering in the toughest reeducation camps like H\u00e0m T\u00e2n, H\u00e0 Nam Ninh, and V\u0129nh Ph\u00fa. We also contacted writers and poets who had lost their will to write, expressing our appreciation, trust and care to them, so that they were inspired to resume their creative work. Thanks to the courage and the dedication of Venerable Nun Tr\u00ed H\u1ea3i and her disciples, with their car packed full with medications, rice and clothing, and offering spontaneous “mini Dharma talks,” we also sent gifts to the poor, newly-built villages.<\/p>\n

Before 1975, the Senior Nuns C\u00e1t T\u01b0\u1eddng, Th\u1ec3 Qu\u00e1n, Th\u1ec3 Thanh, Nh\u01b0 Huy\u1ec1n and Vi\u00ean Minh, and the Senior Monks Ch\u00e1nh Tr\u1ef1c, Nh\u01b0 V\u1ea1n, Long Tr\u00ed were all bodhisattva arms reaching far and wide to help people. Today, this loving work is continued by Venerable H\u1ea3i \u1ea4n in Hu\u1ebf; Venerable Nuns \u0110\u00e0m Nguy\u1ec7n in Han\u00f4i, Nh\u01b0 Minh, Di\u1ec7u \u0110\u1ea1t, Minh T\u00e1nh in Hu\u1ebf, H\u1ea1nh To\u00e0n in Qu\u1ea3ng Ng\u00e3i, Gi\u1edbi Minh; Brother Ph\u00e1p L\u1ed9, Sister Y Nghi\u00eam, Ch\u00e2n T\u01b0\u1edbng H\u00f2a, Vi\u1ec7t, T\u00e2n, D\u0169ng, Mai, Xu\u00e2n, Tuy\u1ebft, Th\u00e2n, Ch\u00e2n \u0110oan… During the post-war years, through Ch\u00e2n Th\u1ec3 H\u00f2a and Thu\u1ea7n, we sent money and rice to poor people living in remote areas. With the hands of Ch\u00e2n D\u1ee5ng H\u00f2a, Ch\u00e2n H\u1ef7 C\u0103n, A, and Vi\u1ec5n, we looked after disabled and lonely senior citizens, offered the gift of sight to those with cataracts, and raised funds to pay salaries of hundreds of teachers, opening kindergartens and schools in remote areas and providing not only instruction but also lunches and soy milk to malnourished children.<\/p>\n

The Sangha arms are very long indeed, reaching out far and wide — not only in Vietnam; but all around the world, in Bangladesh, India, Israel, Palestine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dear students, near and far, In the Daily Chanting book, there is a chant that I really liked when I was a novice. The prose of this piece is very beautiful, and its content has a great capacity to nourish the aspiration of monastics. Every time the novice Ph\u00f9ng Xu\u00e2n [Th\u1ea7y\u2019s earlier name] chanted<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","topics":[],"class_list":["post-158131","letter","type-letter","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter\/158131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/letter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/letter\/158131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.plumvillage.org\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=158131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}