UBCV leader Thich Quang Do issues Vesak Message calling on Buddhists to engage for freedom and justice in Vietnam

PARIS, 1st June 2015 (IBIB) – The Most Venerable Thich Quang Do, Patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) has issued his annual Message on the occasion of the Vesak (Birth of Buddha) which is celebrated today, 1st June 2015. In his Message, sent from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Saigon, where he has been held under effective house arrest since 2003, the UBCV Patriarch recalls the fundamental Buddhist principles of tolerance, mutual respect and understanding, and urges Buddhists to rally together to build a just and caring society in Vietnam.

“Whilst history progresses and moves forward, the Vietnamese people are being pushed backwards, abused and oppressed by a totalitarian regime that betrays our Vietnamese heritage. Today, we Vietnamese have human bodies, but we have no human rights”, he writes. “Forty years after the end of the Vietnam War, there is still no peace in Vietnam. The government has unified the country, but it has failed to unify the peoples hearts (…) The fact is that as long the government looks on its citizens as the means and not the end, the Vietnamese people will never know happiness and our country will never be free”.

He urges Vietnamese Buddhists to reshape Vietnams destiny “by elevating human dignity for each individual and self-determination for our nation as the foundations on which we will re-establish our culture of freedom and humanity. Inspired by these ideals, we can resist aggression in all its forms, from territorial encroachments to invasion by ideologies which have alienated and divided our people over the past sixty years”.

(Text translated by the International Buddhist Information Bureau).

Blessed be Lord Sakyamuni Buddha !

Each year, on this auspicious Vesak Day, Buddhists around the world remember the Enlightened One, and reflect upon the great and noble vow taken by Sakyamuni Buddha almost three thousand years ago to seek an end to universal suffering.

Since Buddhism was introduced into Vietnam two thousand years ago, it has spread the spirit of engagement to serve humankind, and unfurled the path to enlightenment across our land. Wherever the place, whatever the time, Buddhists live each day in rhythm with this commitment to help others, and strive with each breath to realize this noble vow.

Strong with this spiritual heritage, side by side with the people, Buddhists have made great contributions to the development of Vietnamese civilization and the foundation of the nation. Over one thousand years of Chinese rule, Buddhists instigated hundreds of resistance movements, and played a key role in the establishment of the very first independent Dai Viet state under the Ly dynasty.

Vietnamese people were drawn to Buddhism because it is the key to a world of peace, harmony and happiness, based on teachings of tolerance, understanding and infinite compassion. It is the key to a just society in which people live in mutual respect, promoting social equality and seeking the emancipation and enlightenment of all. Sharing this common vision of freedom and justice, the Vietnamese nation and Buddhism have always stood united in the mission of defending and liberating the people.

However, whilst history progresses and moves forward, the Vietnamese people are being pushed backwards, abused and oppressed by a totalitarian regime that betrays our Vietnamese heritage. For the past sixty years, we have been trapped in a succession of wars and ideological conflicts at the bidding of others. We have been pushed to the very confines of suffering, with no hope of escape. Today, we Vietnamese have human bodies, but we have no human rights. This is why, forty years after the end of the Vietnam War, there is still no peace in Vietnam. The government has unified the country, but it has failed to unify the peoples hearts. The fact is that as long the government looks on its citizens as the means and not the end, the Vietnamese people will never know happiness and our country will never be free.

Therefore, today, as hundreds of millions of Buddhists around the world celebrate the Vesak, I call upon all Vietnamese Buddhists, at home and abroad, to remember Lord Buddha, to think deeply on his noble vow to save all beings, and transform ourselves into a driving force to reverse this trend and reshape our destiny.

Reshape our destiny by elevating human dignity for each individual and self-determination for our nation as the foundations on which we will re-establish our culture of freedom and humanity. Inspired by these ideals, we can resist aggression in all its forms, from territorial encroachments to invasion by ideologies which have alienated and divided our people over the past sixty years.

I call upon you all to deepen your faith, diligently observe Buddhist teachings, and be guided by the Six Principles of Harmonious Living, so you may put an end to internal quarrels rooted in ignorance and selfish interests, and concentrate on strengthening Buddhism and rebuilding our homeland, Vietnam.

On this sacred Vesak Day, as we stand before the altar, I call upon all members of the Sangha, respected elders, monks and nuns, all Buddhist lay-followers at home and abroad, to pay a silent tribute to all Buddhist martyrs who sacrificed their lives to defend our nations freedom and protect the faith.

Now, more than ever before, the selflessness and solidarity amongst monks, nuns and lay-followers will have a decisive impact on our movement to emancipate all beings from suffering and liberate them from bondage.