Opening the 88 th Senven-day- retreat Course

On May 6th, 2018 (March 21st Lunar Calendar), Hoang Phap temple officially opens the 88th Seven-day- retreat Course (taken place from May 6th to 13th, 2018). There are over 13000 devout Buddhist joining.

In the morning of the first-day opening, all the attendees were shown the accommodation, chanting hall, lecture hall… and some basic postures for Buddhist as putting hands, bowing down, taking the rite of Buddhist meal at lunch…

At 2 pm in the afternoon, Ven. Thich Chan Tinh, the temple’s abbot had presented for some talk giving being the first day of the retreat course.

He just finished the trip to Korea and Sri Lanka for Buddhist promulgation, therefore some sharing to all attendees from him.

Korea: At present, there are more than 200 Vietnamese living and studying. Many disadvantages happened to them from both mental and material things. It’s from the different language, living cost, stayed from the hometown…but the most insufficient things is spiritual support. We all know that the Korean Buddhism went through various times, and for some periods Buddhism was the national religion. From 1945, Christianity and other religions were introduced to Korea with different ways. They put the most effort to convert the Buddhist to Christian. In current, only 40-50% the population follow Buddhism. This is a very upset matter. The Buddhist sangha members monks and nuns, really care of the Vietnamese in Korea in particular and the Korean in general. Therefore, they all try utmost to improve their Buddhist study and to be good at the Korean language as well for spreading and preserving Buddhism here. Nothing but Buddhism can bring about the peace and happiness for life.

Srilanka: Buddhism is Sri Lanka’s national religion. Having arrived the airport, visitors can see the Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the central location. It provides a very good symbol of Buddhism and creates a nice impression for those who visit. For all the temples and Buddhist holy places, visitors can experience the barefoot feeling of going back to the Buddha’s time, the way to respect the Awakened One as well.

However, Muslim is showing fast growing up with different attractive strategies, which raising high threatening to Buddhism. Fear of replacing the Buddhist role by Muslim had covered not only the Srilankan’s sangha member but all the citizens here.

Back to Vietnam, today, the Church of God World Gospel Association, started from Korea, founded by Kim Joo-Cheol và Jang Gil-Ja, and the former name was the Witnesses of Jesus Church of God, an obvious superstition now is gradually spreading, making fear and confusing to people, giving a big impact to the social order, peace and security.

The Buddha said everyone being here needs to bear the four great kindnesses: from the parent, from masters and teachers, from the nation and from all living beings. Parent gives us lives, nourish and take care us from a new-born to adult. Masters and teachers transfer knowledge and moral for us to be a good one, an educated one and the useful one in future. The nation protects and brings about a peaceful life for us. All living beings contribute to create and maintain our existences from the life’s necessities and essentials at least… we can’t be a single existence or entity, but interdependent to all living beings.

From there, we can see that our existences made by ourselves, not by any god or any almighty in the role of saint or god. We are now in the modern time, the time of science and technology, don’t be cheated, blinded or controlled by someone else. All are the foolery of those people who have a tiny brain, lazy work but want to be famous. If leading by a blind faith, we can lose ourselves, our families and finally our happiness to such a stupid foundation.

Ven. Abbot expressed some difficulties in taking Buddhist practice of the modern people. We now have enough condition and means for higher and further learning Buddhism. So each individual as a Buddhist, we need to improve our Buddhist knowledge, keep the firm faith in the Buddha’s teaching, try to spread Dharma to everyone as much as we can… Doing such, we are preserving Buddhism from the effect of other religions. Nothing but the causes and effects can give suffering or happiness to us. Be alert in taking conversion and be caution from the sweet seduction of any intended foundation.

Finish the talk, all people official start the 88th retreat course.

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