Monk's return tests
Vietnam's religious tolerance
Buddhist emissary Nhat Hanh makes his second visit to Vietnam
since being exiled in 1966.
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By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The
Christian Science Monitor
BAT
NHA, VIETNAM - Four decades after leaving his homeland to
preach nonviolence in the US – a nation then at war with his own –
Vietnam's foremost Buddhist emissary to the West is back for what
could be his final peace mission.
How
Vietnam's rulers handle the visit by Thich Nhat Hanh, a scholar
and bestselling author who teaches "socially engaged" Zen
Buddhism, will offer an insight into the space for religious
expression here. It could also show Vietnam's abiding adoration
for an octogenarian monk who rose to fame in the turbulent 1960s
and is trying to engage with a new generation of Vietnamese
youths.
In
recent years, Vietnam has eased restrictions on public worship
while sticking to a policy of recognizing only six
state-controlled faith organizations. Last year, the US State
Department removed Vietnam from a list of countries of particular
concern for religious freedom, citing improvements in the
treatment of Protestant churches and other faiths. The move drew
flak from human-rights groups that cite continued repression of
worshipers, particularly in highland communities.
Buddhists are among those who have felt the sting of government
coercion. Leaders of the outlawed United Buddhist Church of
Vietnam (UBCV), which refused to join the official Buddhist
organization after the defeat of US-backed South Vietnam in 1975,
have been detained and harassed. Observers say the Vietnamese
government recognizes the proclivity of temples for fomenting
political activity; policymakers haven't forgotten how monks led
antiwar protests in the 1960s,
Mr.
Nhat Hanh was among those opposed to the war, an opposition he
continued in exile in the US and France after he was barred from
returning to Vietnam in 1966. He inspired Martin Luther King Jr.
to take a stance against the war and led a Buddhist delegation to
the 1969 Paris peace talks.
His
10-week visit to Vietnam, which began Feb. 20, is only his second
since 1975 and was subject to six months of negotiations with
authorities. Much of his schedule is devoted to teachings and
monastic retreats, such as a recent gathering at a hillside temple
in Bat Nha, about 87 miles from Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon.
Far
more ambitious and attention- grabbing are mass requiems being
held in three cities, starting March 16 in Ho Chi Minh City. The
chanting ceremonies are open to all faiths and to nonbelievers.
Organizers say Nhat Hanh's aim is to heal the pain and suffering
on both sides of a nation torn apart by decades of civil war.
"This
meets the needs of Vietnamese people. It's time for
reconciliation, for the real unification of the country," says
Phap An, a monk and senior aide to Nhat Hanh.
The
invitation extends even to Vietnam's Communist – and nominally
atheist – rulers. "Marxists are invited to recite passages and
statements from Marx which reflect his spirituality and his love
for humanity," reads a statement from the organizers.
Aides
say that they have received private encouragement from government
officials who support his teachings. But few are likely to attend.
Officials say overt displays of faith, while no longer taboo, are
frowned upon by the ruling Communist Party.
Communist hard-liners aren't the only ones suspicious of Nhat
Hanh. Exiled UBVC supporters have criticized his visit as lending
credibility to a regime that jails dissident clergy. His aides
argue, however, that backing the UBVC would end his ability to
preach his message of reconciliation and peace.
Aides
say the Zen master wants to seed a new wave of teachers in Vietnam
who can spread his practices to a generation that may see Buddhism
as old-fashioned. The newly ordained are between 16 and 32 years
old – a deliberate policy, says Chan Kong, a nun, who calls them a
young "Peace Corps" for Vietnam. "Our spiritual heritage has been
lost to war and communism. We can bring it back," she says.
Still,
the taboo against marrying Marxism and Buddhist spirituality
remains. At one of Nhat Hanh's dawn ceremonies at the Bat Nha
temple last week, a university student said he was was leery of
telling his parents about his spiritual interests – or allowing a
reporter to publish his name. His parents worked for the city
government in Ho Chi Minh City, he said, and want him to follow
suit.